Obesity

[bctbct]

"Obesity's not just dangerous, it's expensive. New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who's normal weight.

Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs."

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If this gains momentum could it collapse group medical insurance?

 

[Moonbeam]

Clearly the government should be paying people to lose weight with a yearly stipend to keep it off.

 

[First]

It's interesting that Texas leads the way in obesity. That fits the stereotype.

 

[quest55720]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Clearly the government should be paying people to lose weight with a yearly stipend to keep it off.

Sadly that is about the only thing that might work. Atleast till there is some sort of magical pill that keeps weight off.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: quest55720

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Clearly the government should be paying people to lose weight with a yearly stipend to keep it off.

Sadly that is about the only thing that might work. Atleast till there is some sort of magical pill that keeps weight off.

Well they can always mandate that from now on each and every Refrigerator must have a full length mirror mounted on the door. If people saw how ridiculous they looked when they we going to stuff their face they might do something about it.

 

[StageLeft]

Nowhere in there is perhaps the largest cost: Chances are if you're obese, so is your significant other, which means you're tapping a fatty. Yuck!

 

[nageov3t]

maybe we need a constitutional ammendment to ban straight marriage?

there's a correlation between marriage and gaining weight.

 

[spidey07]

This is nothing more than justification for fat taxes. It's coming, I don't want to see it, but it is coming.

 

[cubeless]

Originally posted by: quest55720

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Clearly the government should be paying people to lose weight with a yearly stipend to keep it off.

Sadly that is about the only thing that might work. Atleast till there is some sort of magical pill that keeps weight off.

how about those pills they give secret agents... swallow one and problem is gone...

 

[Zeeky Boogy Doog]

Originally posted by: spidey07
This is nothing more than justification for fat taxes. It's coming, I don't want to see it, but it is coming.

What's wrong with that? I get taxed for enjoying my cigarettes, why shouldn't there be a tax for enjoying too much food? Unless you want to remove the tax for my cigarettes, that's also fine with me.

 

[alchemize]

We subsidize grains, why not tax doritos?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I despise sin taxes, but I wouldn't be opposed to taxing the ingredients directly that make a lot of food unhealthy. For example, there may be acceptable amounts of high fructose corn syrup in any given food item, but since it's put into damn near every given food item, most people's intake is way, way beyond anything healthy. Taxing it directly would promote reductions and alternative ingredients.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Zeeky Boogy Doog

Originally posted by: spidey07
This is nothing more than justification for fat taxes. It's coming, I don't want to see it, but it is coming.

What's wrong with that? I get taxed for enjoying my cigarettes, why shouldn't there be a tax for enjoying too much food? Unless you want to remove the tax for my cigarettes, that's also fine with me.

If you search back on my posts many, many years ago I and others predicted this rationale, an incorrect one at that. Once the cost of healthcare was the reason to up the taxes on boose and cigs the doors were wide open.

The people rally and cheer, until it is their bull being gored. It's coming unless we stand up and fight this nonsense.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: alchemize
We subsidize grains, why not tax doritos?

Indirectly, we do. Agricultural policy FAIL.

 

[Moonbeam]

Alternatively, we could hunt fat people down and put them in prison and feed the diet rations till they get thin, sort of a twist on catch and relesase.

 

[glenn1]

Originally posted by: Zeeky Boogy Doog

Originally posted by: spidey07
This is nothing more than justification for fat taxes. It's coming, I don't want to see it, but it is coming.

What's wrong with that? I get taxed for enjoying my cigarettes, why shouldn't there be a tax for enjoying too much food? Unless you want to remove the tax for my cigarettes, that's also fine with me.

Part of the problem is the ridiculous methodology that is currently used for calculating obesity. The formula commonly used (weight in kilos / height in meters²) winds up including many folks who should not be considered obese by any definition.

 

[Andrew1990]

Why not have a category on Federal Income Tax so only the fatties are taxed and the skinny people who love eating food wont be taxed.

Taxing food directly means taxing everyone, not just the fatties that cost more.

 

[Sacrilege]

Link to News Article Regarding Teenage Obesity Epidemic

Yesterday, President Obama called on the nation's public school system to work together with his administration to develop a more progressive lunch program that emphasizes healthy eating and discourages late-night snacking.

 

[zeruty]

Originally posted by: loki8481
maybe we need a constitutional ammendment to ban straight marriage?

there's a correlation between marriage and gaining weight.

Careful there, buddy...

Then the next step would be:

maybe we need a constitutional ammendment to ban homosexual sex between two men?

there's a correlation between male to male homosexual sex and acquiring HIV.

Edit:
And HIV most definitely costs more than $1400 extra per year.


I think the first step should be abolishing the corn subsidies that make HFCS cheaper than sugar, so that it no longer makes financial sense to use HFCS. Hell, I think HFCS-containing products should carry a warning label.

While were at it, we need to get rid of this bullshit practice of putting ethanol in gas... 10% ethanol reduces my gas mileage by more than 10%... How the fuck does that make any sense? It's making things worse. Plus I'm beginning to believe it is what has caused me to have 2 failed fuel pumps in the last 2 years...

 

[JSt0rm]

you can get a great gym for $1400 a year.

 

[IGBT]

before you can expect health care, "the obama" plan will require you to care for your health. expect bmi criteria to be enforced or pay higher tier premium with reduced coverage.

 

[Moonbeam]

Maybe the American car companies could built exercise bikes that you pedal and create electricity that's pumped in the grid and which meter and pay you for what you create. This would be great for poor fat people.

 

[bamacre]

Or maybe, just maybe, if this isn't too radical of an idea, make people responsible for themselves.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: bamacre
Or maybe, just maybe, if this isn't too radical of an idea, make people responsible for themselves.

Good idea, maybe cattle prods to for fat people stampedes.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Alternatively, we could hunt fat people down and put them in prison and feed the diet rations till they get thin, sort of a twist on catch and relesase.

I agree with this, but it would be cheaper (less prison time) and more beneficial to society as a whole to have them work it off in a labor-like environment. There are shovel-ready projects that didn't receive stimulus funding; this represents free labor. Everybody wins.

The formula commonly used (weight in kilos / height in meters²) winds up including many folks who should not be considered obese by any definition.

Very few folks are reping out with 350 lbs on the bench press; only particularly muscular people should not be judged by this standard. BMI is a decent enough measure that is applicable to the majority of people.

Maybe the American car companies could built exercise bikes that you pedal and create electricity that's pumped in the grid and which meter and pay you for what you create. This would be great for poor fat people.

Another good idea. I was on my trainer this morning and all the watts I put out with my legs are wasted directly with heat. If it was possible for it to at least take the edge off the electricity I was using to watch the TV, it would be great!