American Journal of Health Education — November/December 2003, Volume 34, No. 6 329 Poor diet and physical inactivity are estimated to cause up to 580,000 deaths a year from cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. The economic cost related to these diseases has been conservatively esti- mated at $71 billion annually (Jacobsen & Brownell, 2000). Along with this trend, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States has reached epidemic pro- portions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2003). Overweight and obesity is estimated to account for about 9% of annual medical expenditures, $92.6 billion in 2002 dollars (Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, & Wang, 2003). Currently, more than half of all U.S. adults are considered overweight, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more. Several studies Shari McMahan, MS, PhD, CHES, is an asso- ciate professor of health science in the Division of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at Cali- fornia State University, Fullerton, CA; E-mail: smcmahan@ fullerton.edu. Jeffrey Hampl, PhD, RD, is an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ. Yosuke Chikamoto, PhD, is an assistant professor of health science in the Division of Ki- nesiology and Health Promotion at California State University, Fullerton, CA. A “Fat” Tax: Knowledge and Attitudes of Snack Food Taxing Among College Students Shari McMahan, Jeffrey Hampl, and Yosuke Chikamoto have demonstrated that the obesity epi- demic spread rapidly during the 1990s across all states, regions, and demographic groups in the United States (Flegal, Carroll, Kuczmarski, & Johnson, 1998; Galuska, Serdula, Pamuk, Siegel, & Byers, 1996; Kuczmarski, Flegal, Campbell, & Johnson, 1994). Obesity (defined as having a BMI over 30) increased from 12% in 1991 to 17.9% in 1998 (Mokdad et al., 1999). The highest increase occurred among the youngest ages (18- to 29-year-olds), people with some college education, and people of Hispanic ethnicity. In spite of the public health impact of obesity and overweight, these conditions have not been a major pub- lic health priority in the past. Halting and reversing the upward trend of the obesity Continuing Education ABSTRACT The economic cost for the United States from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer is estimated at $71 billion annu- ally. Along with this trend, the prevalence of obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. To date, all interventions related to the prevention and treatment of obesity have failed. We must find a new way to prevent this epidemic from spreading. How then can we best encourage people to make lower-fat, more appropriate food choices? What if a tax was applied to unhealthy, fat-laden foods? Among those most affected by such a policy are college-age students. First, this age range (18–29) is at increased risk for obesity, and second, they spend an extraor- dinary amount of money on convenience food. The purpose of this study was to identify college student’s knowledge and attitudes on policies regarding sales tax on snack-related food items. Surveys were administered in a variety of general education courses at two Western universities. Six-hundred sixty surveys were completed. Results indicated that many students (71.5%) were not aware of a snack food tax. About one-half (47.3%) felt they would support such a tax especially if the tax was minimal (e.g., 1 cent). epidemic requires a new approach. There is general agreement that mea- sures to reduce the fat content of the diet of the population would be helpful in prevent- ing and/or delaying the development of