New taxes are being introduced on takeaway food to cut the multi-billion pound sickness benefit bill.
Ministers are considering a range of “sin taxes” to reduce obesity rates that prevent Britons from working due to ill health.
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However, the Conservatives accused Social Care Secretary Liz Kendall of “putting things off” by “evading” decisions to cut the benefits bill, which is set to reach £100bn by 2030.
But proposals in the Get Britain Work document suggest back pain and heart problems are a barrier to people returning to work.
The plan also indicates that there are 500,000 people who are unemployed or economically inactive due to smoking, heavy drinking, or obesity.
A project being implemented in Manchester is investigating the use of weight-loss injections tiraspatide to reduce obesity levels.
The new plan states that “all levers” which could include taxes would be considered to encourage the reformulation of food and drink to help suppress overweight and obese people.
It follows the soft drinks industry levy which saw a 46 per cent reduction in sugar in drinks between 2015 and 2020.
It comes after Health Minister Wes Streeting previously said he was prepared to use the “heavy hand of ISIS” to force companies to make health products.
Chris Snowdon, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Whatever the problem, this government believes tax is the solution.
“The truth is that sugar taxes have never worked anywhere in the world, and Denmark's brief experiment with a fat tax was a disaster.
Increasing the cost of living would be economically reckless and politically suicidal.
“Obesity is once again being used as a way to distract from the real issues, which, in this case, are the failings of the social care system and the alarmingly high number of people suffering from mental health conditions outside of work.”
