Medication not the best response to obesity.

imported_Shivetya

Platinum Member
Jul 7, 2005
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More than a million anti-obesity prescriptions were issued in England in the last financial year at a cost of £47million. It means about 88,000 people could be on a course of treatment.

What do you think? To me obesity is just as bad of a medical issue as smoking and drinking excessively. Yet should society pay the cost for people who have no self control, or simply don't care?

While many like to label America the land of fatties all one has to do is go to Europe and realize all those fat people are not tourist from the heartland. Its an epidemic in the 1st world that is the result of people having too little reason to look after themselves. It will only get worse in America when the government imposes universal health insurance. I can look at my workplace and see people with handicap stickers who got them because their body cannot support their weight, most of the people I see at stores in handicap slots are FAT.

Yet how do you alter someone's lifestyle? Penalize them? Put them on a correctional lifestyle and if they don't follow it what can you really do?
 

bsobel

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Dec 9, 2001
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I *mostly* agree with you, but there is a segment of the population that is obese not from overeating but from actual metabolism issues. Those people may well require medication. Telling them apart from folks who should just go on a fricken diet is becoming harder.
 

Pacemaker

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2001
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Originally posted by: bsobel
I *mostly* agree with you, but there is a segment of the population that is obese not from overeating but from actual metabolism issues. Those people may well require medication. Telling them apart from folks who should just go on a fricken diet is becoming harder.

I agree with this. Some overweight people eat less and exercise more than people who are not overweight. I won't say all, many overweight people need to control their diet and exercise more (myself included). In reality medication should be used when diets and exercise fail (and not fail because the person has no will power) not as a starting point.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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Haha, too bad fatties!

You know, the simple fact is that anybody who's fat, no matter what excuses they have, is fat because of eating too much. That is, afterall, what fat is. There are a few cases in which their metabolism may be so messed that to get essential, required nutrients they have to eat to a certain level that throws excess fat on, though. To be in that group, well that sucks, I Hope they find a med for it.

For everyone else--which is almost everybody--it's their own fault through systematic poor behavior so medical treatment should be prioritized below that of people suffering from other treatable ailments who have it perhaps through no self-abuse.
 

Pacemaker

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2001
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Haha, too bad fatties!

You know, the simple fact is that anybody who's fat, no matter what excuses they have, is fat because of eating too much. That is, afterall, what fat is. There are a few cases in which their metabolism may be so messed that to get essential, required nutrients they have to eat to a certain level that throws excess fat on, though. To be in that group, well that sucks, I Hope they find a med for it.

For everyone else--which is almost everybody--it's their own fault through systematic poor behavior so medical treatment should be prioritized below that of people suffering from other treatable ailments who have it perhaps through no self-abuse.

The only problem with this is how can you tell the difference between a skinny person who eats nothing but junk and an overweight person who may not eat as bad? I know many a skinny person who never gains weight no matter what they eat, but that doesn't make them healthy. Should we have to give a 6 month history of our eating/exercising habits before we can be admitted to a hospital?
 

imported_Shivetya

Platinum Member
Jul 7, 2005
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Originally posted by: Pacemaker
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Haha, too bad fatties!

You know, the simple fact is that anybody who's fat, no matter what excuses they have, is fat because of eating too much. That is, afterall, what fat is. There are a few cases in which their metabolism may be so messed that to get essential, required nutrients they have to eat to a certain level that throws excess fat on, though. To be in that group, well that sucks, I Hope they find a med for it.

For everyone else--which is almost everybody--it's their own fault through systematic poor behavior so medical treatment should be prioritized below that of people suffering from other treatable ailments who have it perhaps through no self-abuse.

The only problem with this is how can you tell the difference between a skinny person who eats nothing but junk and an overweight person who may not eat as bad? I know many a skinny person who never gains weight no matter what they eat, but that doesn't make them healthy. Should we have to give a 6 month history of our eating/exercising habits before we can be admitted to a hospital?

Why not simply charge them more for their service?

After all, if they are going to put themselves at risk shouldn't they be required to pay for it?
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
11,060
1
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Originally posted by: Shivetya
More than a million anti-obesity prescriptions were issued in England in the last financial year at a cost of £47million. It means about 88,000 people could be on a course of treatment.

What do you think? To me obesity is just as bad of a medical issue as smoking and drinking excessively. Yet should society pay the cost for people who have no self control, or simply don't care?

While many like to label America the land of fatties all one has to do is go to Europe and realize all those fat people are not tourist from the heartland. Its an epidemic in the 1st world that is the result of people having too little reason to look after themselves. It will only get worse in America when the government imposes universal health insurance. I can look at my workplace and see people with handicap stickers who got them because their body cannot support their weight, most of the people I see at stores in handicap slots are FAT.

Yet how do you alter someone's lifestyle? Penalize them? Put them on a correctional lifestyle and if they don't follow it what can you really do?

obesity epidemic has more to do with our basic societal choices than "personally responsibility". Cars. TV. Food. Desk Jobs. Suburbia. Almost nothing in the average persons day to day life encourages health, and infact one has to go to great lengths to be healthy.

I would love to be able to walk to the grocery store for instance, but the fact is that instead of being a few blocks away, the closest grocery store is 1.5 miles away. I would like to walk to work (and used to, at my old job back home) but its three - four miles to get to work, and thats not a commute i want to walk every day. If i could i would roller blade, but the route involves a few stretches with no sidewalks, and I can't afford to buy a bike.
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
11,060
1
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oh and giving fat people medication to lose weight is a stupid idea. Talk about even further encouraging convenience culture.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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If you don't cure obesity, the people will continue to have more problems, and they will rack up medical bills. Someone's gotta pay.

But I agree that medication is stupid. The only real answer is Gastric Bypass.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
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Eating less while exercising more would cure 99% of the obese. It doesn't even have to be a diet or going to the gym. Walking and cutting back on the sammiches a little.

That requires effort though.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Eating less while exercising more would cure 99% of the obese. It doesn't even have to be a diet or going to the gym. Walking and cutting back on the sammiches a little.

That requires effort though.

When you're talking about obese obese, it gets much harder. I don't think many people have the will power to go on those 1000 calorie diets for a few years to shed 400 or so pounds.
 

senseamp

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
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Junk food is ruining a lot of women :( I was in line behind a woman at the store today today, her butt looked like she had an SUV tire around her body, and her legs looked like bags of potatoes with all the cellulite. It was disgusting yet mildly amusing at the same time.

 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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670
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Originally posted by: Hacp
When you're talking about obese obese, it gets much harder. I don't think many people have the will power to go on those 1000 calorie diets for a few years to shed 400 or so pounds.
Someone who's 400 pounds probably got there with a 4000-calorie diet. A treadmill, lifecycle, or a little walking plus even a 2000-3000 calorie diet would slim them down eventually.

Slow steady loss is safer than a crash diet anyway.
 

Rio Rebel

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Haha, too bad fatties!

You know, the simple fact is that anybody who's fat, no matter what excuses they have, is fat because of eating too much. That is, afterall, what fat is. There are a few cases in which their metabolism may be so messed that to get essential, required nutrients they have to eat to a certain level that throws excess fat on, though. To be in that group, well that sucks, I Hope they find a med for it.

For everyone else--which is almost everybody--it's their own fault through systematic poor behavior so medical treatment should be prioritized below that of people suffering from other treatable ailments who have it perhaps through no self-abuse.

I can't think of a way to respond to this without a personal attack, so I'll just quote it and let people draw their own conclusions.