The level of obesity across the globe is on the rise and this is evidenced by the recent World Health Organisation’s (WHO) estimate of an increase in the worldwide prevalence of obesity which has nearly tripled between 1975 and 2018. Mauritius has a high rate of obesity which is evidenced by the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) report of 2016 indicating that around 54.2% of the participants are obese. One amongst the main causes of obesity is a high level of sugar consumption. In this regard, a number of policies are being undertaken by the Mauritius government one amongst which is the imposition of an excise duty on sugar.

Furthermore, the study will also focus on consumption of some products that are considered to be unhealthy. For instance, while the WHO recommends a level of sodium chloride intake of less than 5 grams (1 tablespoon) per day to reduce blood pressure and cardio-vascular diseases, a study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life (MOHQL) in 2012 revealed that the standardized mean salt intake was around 7.9 grams daily, which is far beyond the WHO’s recommendations. The level of fat consumption is another factor that affects obesity. While the recommended level of fat is between 44 grams to 77 grams for an intake of 2,000 calories per day, a study conducted by Bundhun et al. in 2018 on the target population of 344 children showed that the majority of children consumes more than the recommended fat intake.

In light of the above, the aim of this study is four-fold, mainly to:

• (a) analyse the effectiveness of the three cents of excise duty per gram of sugar on the Mauritius population consumption patterns;
• (b) assess the likely impact of a food tax in Mauritius imposed on fatty or salty foods that are considered unhealthy;
• (c) analyse the laws relating to unhealthy food taxes in Hungary; and
• (d) suggest possible recommendations which may be of use to stakeholders in Mauritius to combat obesity problem.

The methodologies for the research are in essence comprised of the black letter approach which will analyse the legal provisions relating to the laws in Mauritius and Hungary. Books and reports will be also examined. A qualitative analysis is carried out in terms of questionnaire to find out the perceptions of the Mauritius population on food taxes.

The paper aims at responding to the research objectives set out above. In particular, it is suggested that the rate of excise duty on sugar needs to be increased and that the Mauritius government should also consider the imposition of excise duty on the level of salt and fat contained in foods.

全球肥胖症的水平正在上升，最近的世界卫生组织（WHO）估计，全世界肥胖症的患病率上升，这在1975年至2018年之间几乎增加了三倍。毛里求斯的肥胖症发病率很高这在2016年的非传染性疾病（NCD）报告中得到了证明，表明约54.2％的参与者肥胖。肥胖的主要原因之一是高糖摄入量。在这方面，毛里求斯政府正在采取许多政策，其中之一是对糖征收消费税。

此外，研究还将集中于某些被认为不健康的产品的消费。例如，尽管世界卫生组织建议每天摄入的氯化钠水平低于5克（1大汤匙）以降低血压和心血管疾病，但卫生与生活质量部（MOHQL）进行了一项研究。 2012年显示，标准化的平均盐摄入量每天约为7.9克，远远超出了WHO的规定的建议。脂肪消耗水平是影响肥胖的另一个因素。Bundhun等人进行的一项研究虽然建议的脂肪水平为44克至77克，每天摄入2000卡路里的热量。在2018年，针对344名儿童的目标人群显示，大多数儿童的摄入量超过建议的脂肪摄入量。

鉴于上述，本研究的目的是四个方面，主要是：

• （a）分析每克糖征收3美分的消费税对毛里求斯人口消费方式的有效性；
• （b）评估毛里求斯的食品税对被认为不健康的脂肪或咸食品可能产生的影响；
• （c）分析与匈牙利不健康食品税有关的法律；和
• （d）提出可能的建议，这些建议可能对毛里求斯的利益相关者有用，以解决肥胖问题。

这项研究的方法实质上是由黑体法组成的，该方法将分析与毛里求斯和匈牙利法律有关的法律规定。书籍和报告也将被检查。对问卷进行了定性分析，以找出毛里求斯人口对食品税的看法。

本文旨在回应上述研究目标。特别是，建议提高糖的消费税税率，毛里求斯政府还应考虑对食品中所含盐和脂肪的水平征收消费税。