Germans who are overweight could end up paying more for their health insurance.

Marco Wanderwitz, a member of the German Parliament, is proposing what's being called the "fat tax."

He said the tax is needed, because overweight people are driving up the cost of health care and it is not fair to the rest of the citizens.

"The question must be admitted whether the immense costs that, for example, arise from excessive consumption of food, can be permanently paid out of the consolidated health system," Wanderwitz told The London Telegraph.

"I think it's sensible that people who knowingly live unhealthily carry a responsibility for it in a financial respect," he added.

Germany's health care system is supported by insurance funds. Still, obesity-related illnesses costs Germany about $21 billion a year.

It's estimated that nearly 20 percent of all Germans are overweight.