When will we declare war on obesity . Its costing hundreds of millions in additional health care costs .?

Question

Fat people are a drain on the economy and are able to perform much less work then those at a proper weight . Thus they contribute less to our gdp , need more health care services and in general are a drain on society .
We have reduced the costs of health care by reducing the number of smokers is it time now to focus on fat people .

Answer 1

How exactly do you declare war on fat people? I'm sure it would be as successful as the war on drugs and the war on terror. This is a country based on freedom. You can't start taking people's freedoms away because you don't like what they do with it.

Answer 2

Bigotry is not restricted to race or religion. To discriminate against someone who is heavy is also bigotry. First of all many people are fat because of medical conditions that make them that way, others are fat because medication makes them that way. Yes there are the ones who are fat because they eat too much of the wrong things and don't get enough excercise. Lumping these altogether is wrong. The latter group would fit your concerns by all means and steps are being taken to change behaviors and foods. Remember it took some time for those people to get fat. It doesn't happen over night and won't be cured over night either.

I disagree that heavey folks are a drain on society. That is where your biggotry comes in. You don't know every fat person. You don't know what they can and cannot do. Not all need healthcare services any more than anyone else. Some do and some don't. I knew a man who was physically fit. Never went to the doctor and one day he had a stroke. His medical bills went through the roof.

We have recuced the number of smokers, true, and we can, and are, working on reducing the things that cause people to be fat in the last case I mentioned. Those whose obesity comes from medical reasons or medication cannot help that they are fat. I am sure they don't want to be heavy but they are. That's life. For the others we should not condemn them but do what we can to offer support. Laws governing foods and food additives should be enacted but in a way that free enterprise is not adversely affected.

We, in your reasoning, should eliminate elderly people too. They have the highest healthcare costs of anyone. And what about babies. Why, we are always takning the kid to the doctor for something....shots, a runny nose, well baby check up, fever, some symptoms, though uncomfortable for the tot are not life thereatening but there we are in the emergency room with the child.

Some day you will be old and need medical care. I hope it is there for you. The rate we have been going it will not be there. We need affordable quality healthcare. We are nowhere close to that for all but the wealthy right now.

Answer 3

Society hasn't quite fully demonized smokers yet. But we're already starting to make those changes with regard to the heavy. I'm a pharmacist, and I'm seeing insurers start to pay for elective obesity medicines that they never would have 5 years ago. I have not been able to find data supporting fat people doing less work, and I have looked. You would think they would do less on the job, but what I've read indicates they actually manage to pull their own weight :).

Answer 4

Is your name Adolph Hitler?

How about going after the fat cat insurance companies that are the ones really profiting? They are the ones who determine our health care needs, not doctors and medical professionals.

It's very easy to point a finger at one particular group and blame them for everything, but you should really try to look at all sides of a problem before you place blame or come up with ludicrous solutions like go after fat people because of additional health costs. Because of attitudes like yours, we will probably soon see the day when we all have to have the microchip implant that determines whether we can be covered by insurance or not.

Some of that money could be spent on better education for all involved. I, personally, go to the doctor when I am sick, not my insurance company. think of how long it takes before you can get someone on the phone to talk to that isnt a machine. And you choose to blame that on fat people?

follow the money trail, see where it leads.

Answer 5

How about the millions spent on woman having babies out of wedlock and can not afford them. At least fat people do work and perform better than some skinny people.
Some people can not help being fat, but people choose to do drugs, smoke,drink, extreme sports, playing there radio to loud (deaf in 5 years), etc.
How about banning poor people, they need more health care services and in general are a drain on society .

Answer 6

And so I can gather that you have the perfect body and you believe that everyone should be like you.
Ok, there are a lot of people in the US who are overweight, but I'm not sure if I can say they are all obese. Also, alot of these people are infact trying to lose weight and are having a hard time of it. So, would you condem them because they are having a hard time of losing weight. Many people have problems with their tyroid or with their metabolism. Other people put on weight due to medicines they take, not due to eating. It's not always over eating that causes overweight people.
I do agree that there are a lot of people that over eat, the people who live on fast food and other junk food. It would be good to get these people to learn to eat better. In fact in NY they have been talking about putting up calorie count signs in all fast food restaurants, in places where they can't be missed, so that everyone will have to know how many calories they are getting in their big macs and can't fool themselves. But that doesn't cover good restaurants where you have no idea of what you are getting when you order something and the hidden calories. I don't know what the government can do to control eating, it's not like cigarettes. You could prove they were killing people, you can't prove that food is killing people.

Answer 7

How about advocating personally responsibility. Soda, remote and video games contribute quite a bit. How about some neighborhood ball fields that are lawyer free and in eyeshot and earshot of parents. Nothing like a little exercise to fix this problem.

Answer 8

Great idea. However, maybe we could also declare war at the same time on the high price of medical care and precription drugs.

Answer 9

Great. Why don't we start with preventative measures as you should with good health care. Let's improve school lunches, make better food available with WIC and food stamps to begin with. Instead of processed food let's make fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains available to those in need.

Answer 10

I understand what your saying. But it's a lot more difficult to control food than it is drugs ( as if we had a lot of control on drugs anyway LOL ). That is in fact one of the really big problems of society that doesn't get enough attention.