Calorie Offsets: Environmental Policy for the Food Environment.

Abstract

Although obesity continues to challenge the public's health, effective policy solutions are wanting. Borrowing from environmental protection efforts, we explored the potential for a "calorie offset" regulatory mechanism, which is similar to the carbon emission offsets used to curb greenhouse gas emissions, to mitigate the harmful health externalities of unhealthy food production. This approach might have a number of advantages over traditional policy tools, and warrants attention from health policymakers and industry alike.