Potential role of obesity taxes in preventing obesity: Thecase of Istanbul province

In this study, Turkey's Istanbul of an obesity tax that may be chargeable on province basis, aims to explore whether the effect on the consumption habits of individuals. Within the scope of the research, data from 504 subjects were taken into consideration. Mann Whitney U Test, Kruskal Wallis Test and Chi Square Test were used to test the hypotheses in the research. The hypotheses in the research were tested by Simple Regression Analysis. As a result of the research, it is seen that individuals have a positive attitude towards obesity tax and the tax will lead to a decrease in unhealthy food consumption. On the other hand, however, there are negative opinions that the tax was issued by the government for the purpose of income, negatively affects low-income individuals and food producers to be taxed, interferes with private life and causes disruptive effects on income distribution. In addition, taxpayers saw education and information policies as a more effective method compared to tax in combating obesity.