--- description: The Navajo Nation, which suffers from a 10% obesity rate, is imposing a 2% junk food tax on its reservation beginning April 1 title: This Part of the U.S. Just Imposed a Tax on Junk Food image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64d485550e13d6eb/6987788fe53aba4c234d6e23/food-candy-snacks-4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Obesity](/tag/obesity/) ## Obesity Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Place Just Became the First Part of the U.S. to Impose a Tax on Junk Food by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 30, 2015 5:46 AM CUT  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Sabrina Toppa](/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 30, 2015 5:46 AM CUT The Navajo Nation, which suffers from a 10% obesity rate, is [imposing](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cja-05-14.pdf "undefined") a 2% junk-food tax on its reservation beginning April 1. Navajo president Ben Shelly approved the Healthy Dine Nation Act last November, which from this week will also eliminate a 5% sales tax on healthy fare including fresh fruits and vegetables. Revenues from the sin tax will reportedly be channeled toward community wellness projects like farmer’s markets, vegetable gardens and greenhouses in the 27,000 sq. mi. of Navajo reservation spanning from Arizona and New Mexico to Utah. Approximately 24,600 Navajo tribe members face obesity, according to the Navajo Area Indian Health Service. Type 2 diabetes has emerged as a growing public health concern afflicting up to 60% of reservation residents in some areas. With nearly half of the Navajo youth population facing unemployment and 38% of the Navajo reservation at the poverty level, supporters say the act may serve as a prototype for sin taxes to curb obesity in low-income communities across the U.S. By comparison, around one-third of Americans nationwide are classified as obese, the highest rate in the world. ### See the 10 Healthiest Cities to Live in America  Honolulu, Hawaii Best Place for Lifelong Health The heavenly climate helps, but the key to well-being here also includes enviable health care and a rich cultural tradition of looking out for one another. Colin Anderson—Blend Images/Corbis  San Francisco Bay Area, Calif. Best Place for Eating Right. The "farm to table" movement began here. The region's bounty of produce and year-round growing season make eating healthy—and local—a natural. Getty Images  Burlington, Vt. 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