Should overweight people...?

Question

Ok first off, although I realize that I will get many negative responses, this is an actual question, and it relates to a lot of the information I had in my college level health class.

Do you think (if it was possible, yes) that overweight people, should be legally required to lose weight?

One of the main reasons why would of course be various health reasons ranging from poor cardiovascular system performance or serious problems, conditions such as diabetes’s, various types of cancers, stroke, respiratory diseases...keep in mind these are all of chances, it is not guaranteed a person will actually become sick from being over weight...just like someone that smokes for 20 years only has a MUCH higher chance of getting a form of cancer from it…

If the health problems were not bad enough, think of all the lost work time, stemming from people that are overweight, the lost work days a year, and especially the lost revenue in health care costs, which are probably mainly provided by

provided by the companies at which the workers are working for. Chronic problems end up becoming huge costs.

Well as stated before, what do you think, if actually possible?

And before people start saying I am an ***hole, YES I AM OVERWEIGHT

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/

http://www.featherish.com/blog/2006/08/15/more-obese-than-malnourished-children-worldwide/

http://www.rand.org/congress/health/0602/obesity/rb4549/index.html

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f01/web1/arima.html

John M...Very intresting suggestion...very well thought out.

/cheer

Gotgrass...Intresting story, I actually tend to get hatemail that comes from most of the (actual) questions I ask, I've even had to start putting disclaimers on some of them.

Answer 1

I see your point, and can see the reasoning behind it, but of course it violates personal freedoms, which we are losing at a rapid rate here in the U.S.

So enact this law, people might oblige and lose some weight....But then we could go in further, saying that people who may pass on hereditary conditions such as being prone to heart diesease, cancers, respiratory diseases should not have children.

Then of course we must remember that if a person is not overweight (due to genetics persay), but eat an equally unhealthy diet as an overweight person, will carry some of those same risks. Why do they go without punishment?

And just curious, what would the penalty be if you did not meet the legal weight requirement?

Answer 2

How would this be enforced? You can not make a blanket rule of if your BMI is over a certain number or make a scale and say "If you are this hieght you should be this weight". Some people have large frames and this can weigh more without being overweight. Other people have a lot of muscle on their body and muscle weights more than fat.

If you say that it could be enforced by a doctor, what about people who do not have insurance, or just avoid going to the doctor in general? Will police officers have scales in their cars and when they see a person who appears to be overweight, have to have the person step on the scale and give a ticket if they are overweight? What about women who gain waterweight with their periods?

What punishment would result if they did not lose the weight? Jail time? Fines? Community service?

If the weightloss was legally required, what options would be available to the person to lose the weight? Who would pay for it? Would they be sent to fat camps until they lost the weight?

Most importantly, what right does the government have to say "You are fat, you need to lose weight?" If your reasoning for this is because of the health riskes, then the same should go for people who smoke, or drink to much, etc. Pretty soon the entire nation would be in various camps being weening off their bad habits. That sounds a bit to much like 1984 to ever be legal or accepted by the people.

In short, not gunna happen!

Answer 3

I have a big problem with government requiring anything from someone to do with or not do with their body. I do believe being overweight can cause a lot of health problems (heart, diabetes, joint disorders, respiratory problems, etc) but I don't think the government should require anyone to lose weight.
There are also many things people of an ideal weight do that can jeopardize thier health and there are people born with diabetes, thyroid disorders or cardio problems that will also lead to high health costs. You can penalize someone for genetic problems so if you forced something on someone overweight, it would be a kind of discrimination. And not all overweight people wind up with health problems.
So, I think the best thing for the government to do is maybe give obese people some sort of tax right off if they join a gym or something. I don't have a problem with insurance companies charging more for life or heath insurance if someone is morbidly obese. But then again, that would lead to other problems. Those people would pay higher premiums and have less money left over for routine check-ups or healthy foods. Am I the only one who has noticed most of the inexpensive foods are loaded w/ saturated fat??? You pay more for one organic banana than you do for a 99 cent burger at a fast food joint. If you're poor & hungry, which do you think they'd buy? Common sense says they'll buy the burger to fill them up. So maybe healthy food should be cheaper.
I don't know. But no, the government shouldn't require anybody to lose weight.

Answer 4

Well if it were that easy to lose weight there wouldn't be any overweight people. And yes I am actually extremely overweight and healthier than my doc. My blood pressure, sugar, blood count, everything is perfect including cholesterol. So obesity should not always be related to health issues. Sometimes people are just hefty but yet healthy. So no they should not be made but I do believe if it is that big and issue then why does insurance not help pay for it. If being overweight leads to all these health problems then would it not be cheaper on them to treat the weight and not have the other problems????????????

Answer 5

Have you noticed that as society has "made fat bad" there are more people with disordered eating problems? There are more overweight and obese people in the US today than ever before and there are more anorexics and bulimics.
Have you noticed how the government is doing in "the war on drugs", and "the war on cancer"? Bringing government into peoples personal lives rarely works.
Would you be willing to have your tax dollars used for research and treatments, such as surgery and drugs to treat obesity? Many health insurance companies won't pay for it.
How about banning food ads?
As a country we all need retraining on portion sizes.
Okay, I'll stop now.....lol.

Answer 6

Should smokers be required to quit? Should alcoholics be required to go to rehab? Should anorexics be required to gain weight?
It's all ideal that everyone should be in good health, but the fact remains that we do live in a country that honors free choice. The government does make available to people guidelines to lose weight. It's the choice of the individual. There are people in the world who enjoy being morbidly obese, look at the subculture of feeders (actually don't, you'll be scarred for life) or the huge weight requirements of some fat acceptance groups.

Answer 7

i thought of the same thing then quickly dismissed the idea simply because people would that the government is trying to control them and its taking away their freedom. what if someone doesnt mind being fat? what they should do is require that every school starting at grade 1 make kids go to PE classes every school day. In IL high schoolers are required to take pe every day. then as they get older inform them of the dangers of being obese and pound it into them. ofcourse sum people will still be obese because they cant help it.

i also think that people that are currently obese should fill some sort of form where they can get free weight loss advice and a personal trainer and the government covers the cost. hopefully it will pay off when less people are being rushed to emergency rooms.

Answer 8

As a question of legality, unfortunately not, as your references are specific to the private sector. But if you involve any service rendered at the expense of the taxpayer, then, yes of course I agree. As soon as someones obesity is the resposibility of SS, Medicaid or Medicare, they along w/ every smoker and drinker should be stricken from the books. Unless "you' prove that your "lifestyle" did not manufacture the problem. There is no reason why someones elevated medical costs should be the burden of society because they treated their bodies so poorly. But clearly on the other hand if one proves that their heart condition is not from their weight, i.e. Burger King, then I am all for you utilizing the system for your medical needs.

Answer 9

I can't imagine how that could become a law since so many politicians are over weight. However, if it did become a law in what way would they government make this happen? Force everyone to have surgery? Have a government official live with the person until they lost weight?

You are paying for all of the health care for illegal immigrants as well as those who are incarcerated. What are you going to do about that?

Answer 10

As an aside, I thought I'd mention that many potential immigrants to various countries are denied entry on the basis that they are too fat. They're deemed a future drain on the health system. This is New Zealand by the way, which I suppose makes a certain amount of sense as the health care here is almost free to residents.