Best idea ever

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Great idea. Another way for the government to control our lives. I hope you are kidding.

Reagan put it this way-
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."
 
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Obesity costs the country millions because of its relation to chronic illness, and brings up insurance premiums, which affect everyone. I think it's a step in the right direction.

Besides, I wouldn't exactly take Reagan as a role model for anything.
 
I find that most people who don't think Reagan did a good job as president are too young to remember his presidency.

The Contra stuff was shady as hell, but from if you look at his body of work, the job he did was nothing short of spectacular. Especially considering the mess we were in from Ford and Carter before him. He led us on a 2008-Boston-Celtics-like turnaround, and ended the cold war too.

Something has to be done about fatassedness though. People need to take better care of themselves, so that our hospitals don't have to shoulder the burden when these people are too fat to move or do anything about it.


Posted via Mobile Device
 
Whether Reagan was your favorite president or not does not matter, it is the quote that is relevant here.


This video is a step towards a totalitarian, paternalistic society that dictates how their citizens are allowed to live and how much they are allowed to eat. The size of your waste and your health should be an individuals own personal matter.

This is not a step in the right direction. This is the first step of putting a noose on free society. I'm not sure about you, but I prefer to live in a country in which I can decide my own bodyweight and lifestyle rather than having big brother breathing down my neck enforcing their morals and views of health on my life. Not only is this picture of such a dictatorship horrifying, but could you imagine the precedent of other laws to follow. Once laws such as these are enacted it won't take long before anything deemed by a government bureaucrat or the mob rule as bad for you to make the ban list. Don't be too surprised when products and food such as red meat, butter, ice cream, or anything that is "bad for you" no longer becomes available to you because it is illegal. When you are sitting at home eating a tofu burger and broccoli, you'll only have yourself to thank.

As for your own personal health problems costing the rest of the country millions and increasing insurance premiums that "affect everyone", this is a consequence of our broken healthcare system that will become ever more disastrous with the advent of socialized medicine. An individuals health costs should be just that, the individual's costs. We should not be deemed obligated to pay for our neighbor's gastric bypass surgery, we should all be responsible for ourselves.
 
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sexyman said:
Whether Reagan was your favorite president or not does not matter, it is the quote that is relevant here.


This video is a step towards a totalitarian, paternalistic society that dictates how their citizens are allowed to live and how much they are allowed to eat. The size of your waste and your health should be an individuals own personal matter.

This is not a step in the right direction. This is the first step of putting a noose on free society. I’m not sure about you, but I prefer to live in a country in which I can decide my own bodyweight and lifestyle rather than having big brother breathing down my neck enforcing their morals and views of health on my life. Not only is this a picture of such a dictatorship horrifying, but could you imagine the precedent of other laws to follow. Once laws such as these are enacted it doesn’t take long before anything deemed by a government bureaucrat or the mob rule to make the ban list. Don’t be too surprised when products and food such as red meat, butter, ice cream, or anything that is “bad for you” no longer becomes available to you because it is illegal. When you are sitting at home eating a tofu burger and broccoli, you’ll only have yourself to thank.

As for your own personal health problems costing the rest of the country millions and increasing insurance premiums that “effect everyone”, this is a consequence of our broken healthcare system that will become ever more disastrous with the advent of socialized medicine. An individuals health costs should be just that, the individual’s costs. We should not be deemed obligated to pay for our neighbor’s gastric bypass surgery, we should all be responsible for ourselves.
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Those are literally my thoughts to a tee.
 
I am most certainly not an advocate for government playing a larger-than-necessary role in our daily lives. However I'm also not an advocate for a complete Laisse-Faire mentality. That being said, a nudge in this direction from the infamous THEY may help to improve these recent digits (taken from CDC):
Latest Obesity Statistics

USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions

  • 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese
  • Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight
  • 78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations
  • 25% completely Sedentary
  • 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990
Please, no references to similar "nudges" like the Economic Stimulus or rate cuts. Like I said, I am in no way sticking up for ALL of the government's plans and policies, only the possibility of this one. Considering we're talking about China at this point, and not the US, all of this is hypothetical, but nevertheless intriguing.
 
This will be my final post on this matter. I really cannot fathom how any rational person could possibly be in favor of having the government being in control and dictating to you your body fat percentage or waistline. I personally have the view that the human race is not a helpless collection of human beings that need government officials to paternally dictate to its citizens how to live their lives. It is offensive that you have the arrogance to tell people how to live, and to furthermore have the confidence that the people in Washington can run our lives better than we can. It is also ironic that we are discussing obesity in America, when throughout the history of mankind we were trying to figure out how to feed ourselves and not die of starvation or malnourishment.

However, obesity is NOT the issue. As citizens we should be able to maintain some of the inalienable rights that are inherent to us which includes the right to be overweight or underweight, or to lead any lifestyle we choose as long as it does not violate the rights of others. The statistics you posted are irrelevant; there are a number of other high risk activities and lifestyles that could be deemed by the government to have negative health effects. For example, tri-athletes and runners are very susceptible to ankle and knee injuries due to the high impact nature of the sport. According to your rationale the government should intervene and outlaw this dangerous activity that is clogging the offices of orthopaedic surgeon's and raising insurance premiums for everyone. Maybe the solution, is to bubble wrap all citizens in a well padded room while keeping their caloric intake at precise levels and only doing low impact safe activities- maybe yoga, but that might be too dangerous. It is not the government's proper role to ensure that we live active or inactive lifestyles or that we consume a regulated number of calories per day.

Before you surrender your freedom- seriously and criticially think about the implications of your philosophy.
 
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Umm, marathon runners represent a TINY fraction of the population. Definitely not large enough to impact insurance premiums from their activities.
 
sexyman said:
This will be my final post on this matter. I really cannot fathom how any rational person could possibly be in favor of having the government being in control and dictating to you your body fat percentage or waistline. I personally have the view that the human race is not a helpless collection of human beings that need government officials to paternally dictate to its citizens how to live their lives. It is offensive that you have the arrogance to tell people how to live, and to furthermore have the confidence that the people in Washington can run our lives better than we can. It is also ironic that we are discussing obesity in America, when throughout the history of mankind we were trying to figure out how to feed ourselves and not die of starvation or malnourishment.

However, obesity is NOT the issue. As citizens we should be able to maintain some of the inalienable rights that are inherent to us which includes the right to be overweight or underweight, or to lead any lifestyle we choose as long as it does not violate the rights of others. The statistics you posted are irrelevant; there are a number of other high risk activities and lifestyles that could be deemed by the government to have negative health effects. For example, tri-athletes and runners are very susceptible to ankle and knee injuries due to the high impact nature of the sport. According to your rationale the government should intervene and outlaw this dangerous activity that is clogging the offices of orthopaedic surgeon's and raising insurance premiums for everyone. Maybe the solution, is to bubble wrap all citizens in a well padded room while keeping their caloric intake at precise levels and only doing low impact safe activities- maybe yoga, but that might be too dangerous. It is not the government's proper role to ensure that we live active or inactive lifestyles or that we consume a regulated number of calories per day.

Before you surrender your freedom- seriously and criticially think about the implications of your philosophy.
Click to expand...


Before you go discounting statistics, I think you should have some concrete backing to your statements prior to making them. My rationale has nothing to do with the government trying to impact a small minority (the dedicated athlete), or any other insignificantly small percentage of Americans. My rationale has its influence in the: I need it done yesterday, fast food, fad-diet, quick-fix country that we live in, and the effect that this mindset has had on the health of the majority of our population.

Contrary to your statement, obesity IS the issue. Since you had no tangible evidence to back your claim of 26.2-mile long waiting lines of injured athletes clogging ortho's offices, I would like to direct your attention to a wealth of information, including:

"Some hospitals estimate that half to two-thirds of their patients having joint-replacement surgery are overweight or obese, and these patients are posing added challenges for medical teams."

"...because this group is believed to have a higher incidence of osteoarthritis than people of normal weight, obese Americans may suffer a joint-replacement epidemic, in addition to increased rates of diabetes and high blood pressure."

and maybe most convincingly...

"In Boston, New England Baptist Hospital does the most joint-replacement operations, and it estimates that more than 70 percent of its orthopedic surgery patients are overweight or obese."

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/heal...ise_in_joint_replacement_surgeries/?page=full

Now unless these patients are also trying to squeeze into a wetsuit on Sundays or strapping on their heart rate monitor for a training run, it can be assumed that they are NOT the susceptible triathletes and runners that you speak of, but rather just in need of some light counsel and direction on how to trim that waistline and take some stress off of their poor joints.

This problem transcends many disciplines of medicine. A quick Med-Line search shows that overweight people have higher risk and longer-duration surgeries, must wait longer for organ transplants, and do not respond as well to anesthesia. On top of the obvious risks to themselves, grossly overweight patients pose many risks to those who care for them. Ever tried to move a 400lb man from a sidewalk to a stretcher when he's unconscious? Good luck unless you have at least 8 people.

It's obvious that a good number of Americans can do a little better job taking care of themselves and their overall health. And apparently we haven't been able to do it all that well on our own.

No one is perfect, I get it. We don't have to all be supermodels and professional athletes. But at the same time, we do have a responsibility to ourselves and others to leave the french fry try half empty every once in a while, and tomorrow pick the banana out of the bowl instead of the hash browns from the freezer. "Violating the rights of others" is not at the forefront of this argument. Improving the overall wellness and happiness level of the American (or Chinese) population is. How many times have you heard someone say:

"I've got my head on straight, made some responsible decisions about my eating, and have been able to stop taking 3 of the medications I used to take for high blood pressure and anxiety. I've lost 35 pounds and my energy level is up, and those jeans from college almost fit again! My family and my doctor are proud of me, and my health insurance premiums have decreased! Man, I really wish I could go back to how I was when I had those extra 4 inches around my waistline."

never.
 
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CtownTriDoc said:
Before you go discounting statistics, I think you should have some concrete backing to your statements prior to making them. My rationale has nothing to do with the government trying to impact a small minority (the dedicated athlete), or any other insignificantly small percentage of Americans. My rationale has its influence in the: I need it done yesterday, fast food, fad-diet, quick-fix country that we live in, and the effect that this mindset has had on the health of the majority of our population.

Contrary to your statement, obesity IS the issue. Since you had no tangible evidence to back your claim of 26.2-mile long waiting lines of injured athletes clogging ortho's offices, I would like to direct your attention to a wealth of information, including:

"Some hospitals estimate that half to two-thirds of their patients having joint-replacement surgery are overweight or obese, and these patients are posing added challenges for medical teams."

"...because this group is believed to have a higher incidence of osteoarthritis than people of normal weight, obese Americans may suffer a joint-replacement epidemic, in addition to increased rates of diabetes and high blood pressure."

and maybe most convincingly...

"In Boston, New England Baptist Hospital does the most joint-replacement operations, and it estimates that more than 70 percent of its orthopedic surgery patients are overweight or obese."

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/heal...ise_in_joint_replacement_surgeries/?page=full

Now unless these patients are also trying to squeeze into a wetsuit on Sundays or strapping on their heart rate monitor for a training run, it can be assumed that they are NOT the susceptible triathletes and runners that you speak of, but rather just in need of some light counsel and direction on how to trim that waistline and take some stress off of their poor joints.

This problem transcends many disciplines of medicine. A quick Med-Line search shows that overweight people have higher risk and longer-duration surgeries, must wait longer for organ transplants, and do not respond as well to anesthesia. On top of the obvious risks to themselves, grossly overweight patients pose many risks to those who care for them. Ever tried to move a 400lb man from a sidewalk to a stretcher when he's unconscious? Good luck unless you have at least 8 people.

It's obvious that a good number of Americans can do a little better job taking care of themselves and their overall health. And apparently we haven't been able to do it all that well on our own.

No one is perfect, I get it. We don't have to all be supermodels and professional athletes. But at the same time, we do have a responsibility to ourselves and others to leave the french fry try half empty every once in a while, and tomorrow pick the banana out of the bowl instead of the hash browns from the freezer. "Violating the rights of others" is not at the forefront of this argument. Improving the overall wellness and happiness level of the American (or Chinese) population is. How many times have you heard someone say:

"I've got my head on straight, made some responsible decisions about my eating, and have been able to stop taking 3 of the medications I used to take for high blood pressure and anxiety. I've lost 35 pounds and my energy level is up, and those jeans from college almost fit again! My family and my doctor are proud of me, and my health insurance premiums have decreased! Man, I really wish I could go back to how I was when I had those extra 4 inches around my waistline."

never.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you're completely ignoring sexyman's prior post, which is the cornerstone of what's wrong with all of this. There's a thing called personal responsibility that is almost non-existent in the U.S. today. I spill hot coffee (coffee that's hot...what a shocker) on me, it must be the maker's fault. I get completely smashed at a bar and drive home, only to get into an accident and paralyze myself - must be the bar's fault for continuing to serve me. I repeatedly fill my body with garbage food that I (and any person with an IQ above 70) know will ultimately wreak havoc on my body - it can't be my fault. The food industry is to blame and big brother must save me from myself. Give me a break.

You reap what you sew. Unfortunately, our country has continued to step in and aide these people who have created the mess that they're in. Health care could be made a lot cheaper by simply not passing the buck on to taxpayers. If you want to eat yourself into a mess, then feel free to, but don't expect a free pass on those hospital bills.

What's funny is that this whole health care thing really isn't nearly as complex as people make it out to be. Common sense with a dab of personal responsibility would rectify so much.

Allowing the government to dictate any portion of your life is a slippery slope that ultimately has no end to it. Honestly, where would it end? Anyone that's read 1984, Brave New World, or Fahrenheit 451 can see a lot of frightening similarities to what's occurring in our world today.
 
It'sElectric said:
Unfortunately, our country has continued to step in and aide these people who have created the mess that they're in
Click to expand...

How so?

Health care could be made a lot cheaper by simply not passing the buck on to taxpayers.
Click to expand...

How is the buck being passed to taxpayers? Are you referring to medicare? Do you suggest we get rid of medicare completely?

Even if this is done, what makes you think people still won't be financially affected by other people's lifestyle choices? Diseases like obesity cost corporations money too, which would affect people who aren't obese. I don't see a way of getting around it.
 
bravotwozero said:
How so?



How is the buck being passed to taxpayers? Are you referring to medicare? Do you suggest we get rid of medicare completely?

Even if this is done, what makes you think people still won't be financially affected by other people's lifestyle choices? Diseases like obesity cost corporations money too, which would affect people who aren't obese. I don't see a way of getting around it.
Click to expand...

Do you know how many hospital bills (whether the person has insurance or not) are never paid in full? I don't have time to find exact numbers here, since I'm studying for Boards, but the answer is a lot. As a result (depending on where the bill occurred), that money is directly passed onto taxpayers (as in the ED) or indirectly passed on by forcing hospitals/physicians to increase costs in in order to recoup their losses. This results in increased premiums...yadda, yadda, yadda.

I'm not advocating to get rid of Medicare, since it's our elderly who come from a much different generation (pre-hmos, pre-everything that is in existence today, etc.), but obviously some reform even in that department is in dire need. Medicaid is a whole other story. Calls for "universal" health care are whole other story as well. As I stated earlier, the answer lies in holding people personally responsible for their decisions, which is something our country is not doing.

Government programs, on the whole, find a way of taking something that wasn't so great to begin with and making it a whole helluva lot worse than anyone could have ever imagined.
 
I used to think doctors have no ceiling as to how much they can learn and how much they can make? But beyond human greed...a lot of sick people in this country without an insurance are left to suffer. Its never fair for the rich to enjoy the benefits of health-care while the poor are being clearly discriminated. Heck i don't care how much we lose in our income potential or benefits in the future..we will still have it better than the avg joe...its frustrating to work as hard as we do and to realize that we might be underpaid. However, I don't think humanly speaking any of us would sleep well acknowledging that we might have to refuse our services to someone that can't afford us.
 
I think that idea is hilarious. If the government could get all of the obese members of our population into the doctor's office, do you really think we'd have such a high obesity population?
 
I don't see this as the government trying to protect us from ourselves. Its the government trying to protect themselves from fat people who cannot control how much they eat. They could give two ****s if we live or die, but they are going to be required, to some degree, to shoulder the burden if the stupidity and laziness of some citizens causes health problems that they can't afford themselves.

I can't even count the number of times that they've put me out on the helipad to help unload some gigantic patient that the starflight crew couldn't handle themselves. It happens all the time. And you think they all pay their hospital bills?

The government has to protect its bottom line. That is in everyone's best interest. I will support anything that promotes that cause.

Posted via Mobile Device
 
How do people get away with not paying their hospital bills? Do the docs just say forget it, and decide not to go after these people?

So if I didn't pay my medical bills in this country, nothing would happen?

I'm just curious, as I'm a Canadian myself, and don't fully understand how healthcare works here.
 
I'm not too sure, but I think the state itself writes it off. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
bravotwozero said:
How do people get away with not paying their hospital bills? Do the docs just say forget it, and decide not to go after these people?

So if I didn't pay my medical bills in this country, nothing would happen?

I'm just curious, as I'm a Canadian myself, and don't fully understand how healthcare works here.
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If it is a high enough bill and you have any assets they will eventually take it from you. But if you rent, change jobs monthly, dont put money in the bank, have crap for credit i.e not true citizen, then its not worth it for hospitals/docs to go after you. Even if you use a tax write off you dont get to use the whole amount only a fraction of what is owed to you.
 
ObeseChildren.png
 
Frankly, I see both sides of the issue. I think that something needs to be done about the obesity crisis going on in not only this country (as some people seem to believe) but in a vast majority of developed and semi-developed countries. I am also a firm believer in "if it does not affect other people, it in no way involves them" and that government control needs to have defined limits to keep the freedom that is experienced and expected here. However, if your life choices affect someone other than you, you need to deal with the consequences.

I think the government has every right to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle, but forcing it would not only be beyond our capacity and highly cost ineffective, but would be encroaching on civil liberties and personal rights. I think that if you choose to be obese, or morbidly obese, or smoke, or use drugs etc... you should have to pay the price, be it with insurance premiums, taxes, etc. to pay the higher burden you place on the rest of society. By making the choice to stay obese or morbidly obese you are consiously making the choice to pay the higher price. One step that England took was to put a chip tax out on junk food, like fried chips, cookies, sugared sodas, etc. Not necessarily a bad idea. Sorry for rambling.

One example is with the obese people I take care of in the ER. They need more staff to move them, more nurses to make procedure possible, higher doses of meds, bigger beds, bigger sheets, sturdier and more expensive commodes, they order more food, bigger gowns. They absolutely should have to pay more for their services.
 
I was walking on the boardwalk in Atlantic city, NJ this past weekend and I passed a Steele's fudge store. As I was walking past, weighing the pros and cons of indulging my sweet tooth, I noticed two morbidly obese people standing out front of the store, one of whom was wheelchair bound. Both were chomping away on fudge. I decided to pass on the fudge and it got me thinking.

Many obese Americans collect disability from the government in addition to being a heavy burden on the medical system. The government pays them because they can't work. Under my new plan, the government gives them a job, which is to sit outside of fast food places and other equally horrendous businesses. Seeing a morbidly obese person outside burger king or krispy kreme would certainly make one think twice before scarfing down a double w/ cheese.
 
JiggerDigger said:
Under my new plan, the government gives them a job, which is to sit outside of fast food places and other equally horrendous businesses. Seeing a morbidly obese person outside burger king or krispy kreme would certainly make one think twice before scarfing down a double w/ cheese.
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They already frequent those places
 
To a degree, this is already in place in the U.S. Of course, as Americans, we cringe at the thought of the government controlling us like this, but we're more than happy to allow health insurance corporations to take these sorts of actions in the interest of maintaining our "free market."

I currently work for a large government contractor and when I was reviewing my insurance information this last year, I noticed that it is perfectly legal for health insurance companies to increase their rates for an individual by up to 15% for being obese. Which makes sense in our society as we tend to emphasize the individual over the group. However, in Japan, workers such as those in the video are much more likely to consider their team or company first. Having the company get involved (by fining the company for having obese workers) in the fight against obesity is probably much more effective there whereas hitting individual American pocketbooks is more effective here.

Likewise, it is legal for health insurance companies to increase your premium for having genetic disorders just as it is legal for them to consider Huntington's a pre-existing condition for those who get tested (http://www.lkwdpl.org/hdsa/hdtest.htm).

That aside, I think it's interesting how people in this thread are so quick to leave their objective viewpoint and immediately attack obese people on moral grounds. As physicians I think it's important to remain objective without reacting in outrage to this sort of thing. The way I see it, obese people are just like drug addicts. Drug addicts are drug addicts even if they've never touched drugs before. It's only after they've been exposed to the drug and their life is sufficiently altered that you notice that they are, in fact, addicts.

I, personally, would like to see more information behind the biological and psychological basis for obesity before making a moral judgment call. I hope you don't think people suffering from psychiatric disorders should just "get over" their problems.
 
zenlike said:
To a degree, this is already in place in the U.S. Of course, as Americans, we cringe at the thought of the government controlling us like this, but we're more than happy to allow health insurance corporations to take these sorts of actions in the interest of maintaining our "free market."

I currently work for a large government contractor and when I was reviewing my insurance information this last year, I noticed that it is perfectly legal for health insurance companies to increase their rates for an individual by up to 15% for being obese. Which makes sense in our society as we tend to emphasize the individual over the group. However, in Japan, workers such as those in the video are much more likely to consider their team or company first. Having the company get involved (by fining the company for having obese workers) in the fight against obesity is probably much more effective there whereas hitting individual American pocketbooks is more effective here.

Likewise, it is legal for health insurance companies to increase your premium for having genetic disorders just as it is legal for them to consider Huntington's a pre-existing condition for those who get tested (http://www.lkwdpl.org/hdsa/hdtest.htm).

That aside, I think it's interesting how people in this thread are so quick to leave their objective viewpoint and immediately attack obese people on moral grounds. As physicians I think it's important to remain objective without reacting in outrage to this sort of thing. The way I see it, obese people are just like drug addicts. Drug addicts are drug addicts even if they've never touched drugs before. It's only after they've been exposed to the drug and their life is sufficiently altered that you notice that they are, in fact, addicts.

I, personally, would like to see more information behind the biological and psychological basis for obesity before making a moral judgment call. I hope you don't think people suffering from psychiatric disorders should just "get over" their problems.
Click to expand...


This is ridiculous. In this country, we can ban smoking in alll public places and admonish smokers for being disgusting creatures. We give them crap not only for killing themselves, but risking our lives as well due to secodnd hand smke inhalation. If you like at the statistics however, many more people die each year from heart disease caused by obesity than by second hand smoking or smoking.

Heart disease brought on by obesity is the greatest killer. More than all the killer tomatoes, e. coli laced spinach, aids, hepatitis and other issues in this world. Why we put more publicity into these other things is beyond me.
 
TexasTriathlete said:
I find that most people who don't think Reagan did a good job as president are too young to remember his presidency.

The Contra stuff was shady as hell, but from if you look at his body of work, the job he did was nothing short of spectacular. Especially considering the mess we were in from Ford and Carter before him. He led us on a 2008-Boston-Celtics-like turnaround, and ended the cold war too.

Something has to be done about fatassedness though. People need to take better care of themselves, so that our hospitals don't have to shoulder the burden when these people are too fat to move or do anything about it.


Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...

Much of that stuff is debatable. I find that, like many presidents, the legacy is far greater than what the person actually did. There is evidence that he led to a LOT of negative things as well. In addition, there is even debate about how much Reagan did with the cold war. His russian counterparts were very surprised when they found out that Reagan was essentially ******ed with his knowledge of nuclear weapons, but liked the idea of giving up weapons. The USSR was in a rather precarious position for the 20+ years before that. German politicians did a lot more for the wall than anyone else, which had many east and west germans angry for some time. The nostalgia for the old east german way is still present amongst many germans.

I'm not saying he was a bad president but the neocon representation of him his a little larger than the truth of all the **** that was going on at the time. It always goes that way though.

As far as fat people...let'em be fat but give me more healthy alternatives, so at least I have a choice. I can't watch the video since I'm in a library without headphones.
 
Whether it’s banning smoking or trans fat, the end result is the same: the government saying you CAN’T do something because it represents a lifestyle that portions of society deem potentially harmful and expensive.

How about we ban homosexual male relationships because, as BTH pointed out in another thread, gay men have a higher percentage of anal HPV & anorectal neoplasms, leading to higher medical costs…(sarcasm emphasized)

How about we ban drinking because ~100,000 people die annually from EtOH related accidents & diseases. I’m sure that’s not cheap on the medical system. Is it just not as important because it’s #3 on the M&M list (after smoking & heart disease)?

Should we also make exercise mandatory?

Banning or restricting the means by which people feed their addictions & bad habits is not going to quell the plague of ‘fat*****edness’ in the US: It’s still going to happen, just not overtly or with as much ease. But regulating the ease with which people live their fast-food laden, smoke-inhaling lives is not getting to the root of the problem.

It’s the MENTALITY that’s the problem, and the government is never going to change those peoples’ mentality when it comes to lifestyle decisions it deems suboptimal, but nor is it supposed to. And the next best thing is NOT to address the most superficial aspect of the problem because it’s tangible and something Senator “X” can put on his or her CV.

We live in a free society, not a benevolent dictatorship.
 
sexyman said:
However, obesity is NOT the issue. As citizens we should be able to maintain some of the inalienable rights that are inherent to us which includes the right to be overweight or underweight, or to lead any lifestyle we choose as long as it does not violate the rights of others.
Click to expand...

I live in Asia and every summer when I go back to the states I have trouble keeping my food down. This year, on my first day back, my brother-in-law took me to a buffet place. I've never seen so many fat people waddling around in my life! Every year it gets worse! The guy sitting next to me had to be close to 400 pounds and had a neck bigger than the largest boar hog I've seen at a state fair. He was trying his best to breath in between bites. Of course he barely made it back and forth several times to the buffet line, including dessert. It was all I could do to not gag. The shock factor going between Asia and the USA is just too much! So yes, my rights to eat a decent meal without gagging are being violated.

No, I don't have a solution to the problem.
 
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