that quote could be applied to a lot of things…and it is one well worth remembering as we all seem to be in a point your finger and derogatorily label anything or anyone you don’t like or approve of…
Shall I dare to mention the hormones in beef that are to boost weight gain? Or the growth hormones in milk (thankfully being abated now), or the phthalates disrupting endocrine systems, or the pesticides that cause neural disruption…well, i could go on. Nothing is as simple as the marathon runners and salad eaters want to make it out to be.
As a non drinker, why do I have to pay for your alcohol rehab or the chronic conditions caused by such inbibing? Or for those that are promiscuous, why do I have to pay for your STD treatments? Or for those children born when parents knew they had possibilities of genetic disease before pregnancy (CF, Sickle cell, Tay Sachs, Huntington’s Chorea, etc., etc., etc) why should I be forced to poay for your life choices? Why should my premiums pay for infertility treatment?
According to the Director of National Center for Injury Prevention and Control with the CDC – injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 1 to 44 years with an estimated $406 billion… Of that total, injuries among children ages 0-14 account for $51 billion.
So based on all the wisdom in these comments – cut out all high school sports, I don’t have children, so why should I have to bear the cost of injuries to someone else’s kid.
Recreational boating injuries is estimated at $3.6 billion a year. Tax the crap out of boat owners – I don’t want to pay for them either!
So all you weekend warriors that eat less and exercise more… you cost us billions in sports related injuries. So shut up and sit down!
In the non-nanny state of NH, Rep. Bob Clegg sponsored (and passed) state legislation requiring insurance companies to cover bariatric surgery for qualified people. At 378 lbs he could not lose weight. When he dieted & exercised his metabolism slowed to a rate where his body responded as though it was starving; a natural response. He paid $20,000 out of pocket for the surgery and dropped 150 pounds. Now he no longer takes medication for High Blood Pressure nor Diabetes. Ultimately, his out of pocket expense saved his INSURANCE COMPANY money as the long term medications were discontinued. The company would pay for the meds for his lifetime but not for surgery to stop the cost of prescriptions. Go figure!
I have been working in the trenches as a 25+ wellness professional. The cost to our health care system of obesity ARE great, but the researchers methods of cost estimating make no sense and are at best questionable and at worst –flat out worthless. ..”Cawley and Meyerhoefer tried to overcome that (causation)problem by also looking at the weight of study subjects’ relatives to determine if obesity ran in the family. If so, they labeled the medical costs of a fat person in that family to be caused by obesity. Huh?? This demonstrates cause by any stretch of the term?
We as a nation should be focusing our attention more on the erroneous public policy and wellness narrative of low-fat, high fiber and instead look at the research that demonstrates how the standard American diet, where 70% of calories come from: gluten grains, industrial seed oils and fructose (i.e. all sweeteners and even excess fruit consumption)are the principal behavioral roots of obesity with the secondary factors being inactivity, lack of strength training and the aging population and genetic differences. See the documentary Fathead for a humorous look at this or tackle Gary Taubes book, Good Calories, Bad Calories.
If genetics is the main reason 67% of the population are overweight or obese, why were only 5% overweight in the 1960’s? Genes don’t mutate that quickly. Yes, people may have a genetic predisposition towards obesity, but it’s lifestyle that makes it their destiny.
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Tom
that quote could be applied to a lot of things…and it is one well worth remembering as we all seem to be in a point your finger and derogatorily label anything or anyone you don’t like or approve of…
Shall I dare to mention the hormones in beef that are to boost weight gain? Or the growth hormones in milk (thankfully being abated now), or the phthalates disrupting endocrine systems, or the pesticides that cause neural disruption…well, i could go on. Nothing is as simple as the marathon runners and salad eaters want to make it out to be.
As a non drinker, why do I have to pay for your alcohol rehab or the chronic conditions caused by such inbibing? Or for those that are promiscuous, why do I have to pay for your STD treatments? Or for those children born when parents knew they had possibilities of genetic disease before pregnancy (CF, Sickle cell, Tay Sachs, Huntington’s Chorea, etc., etc., etc) why should I be forced to poay for your life choices? Why should my premiums pay for infertility treatment?
Thank You, Nan
According to the Director of National Center for Injury Prevention and Control with the CDC – injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 1 to 44 years with an estimated $406 billion… Of that total, injuries among children ages 0-14 account for $51 billion.
So based on all the wisdom in these comments – cut out all high school sports, I don’t have children, so why should I have to bear the cost of injuries to someone else’s kid.
Recreational boating injuries is estimated at $3.6 billion a year. Tax the crap out of boat owners – I don’t want to pay for them either!
So all you weekend warriors that eat less and exercise more… you cost us billions in sports related injuries. So shut up and sit down!
In the non-nanny state of NH, Rep. Bob Clegg sponsored (and passed) state legislation requiring insurance companies to cover bariatric surgery for qualified people. At 378 lbs he could not lose weight. When he dieted & exercised his metabolism slowed to a rate where his body responded as though it was starving; a natural response. He paid $20,000 out of pocket for the surgery and dropped 150 pounds. Now he no longer takes medication for High Blood Pressure nor Diabetes. Ultimately, his out of pocket expense saved his INSURANCE COMPANY money as the long term medications were discontinued. The company would pay for the meds for his lifetime but not for surgery to stop the cost of prescriptions. Go figure!
I have been working in the trenches as a 25+ wellness professional. The cost to our health care system of obesity ARE great, but the researchers methods of cost estimating make no sense and are at best questionable and at worst –flat out worthless. ..”Cawley and Meyerhoefer tried to overcome that (causation)problem by also looking at the weight of study subjects’ relatives to determine if obesity ran in the family. If so, they labeled the medical costs of a fat person in that family to be caused by obesity. Huh?? This demonstrates cause by any stretch of the term?
We as a nation should be focusing our attention more on the erroneous public policy and wellness narrative of low-fat, high fiber and instead look at the research that demonstrates how the standard American diet, where 70% of calories come from: gluten grains, industrial seed oils and fructose (i.e. all sweeteners and even excess fruit consumption)are the principal behavioral roots of obesity with the secondary factors being inactivity, lack of strength training and the aging population and genetic differences. See the documentary Fathead for a humorous look at this or tackle Gary Taubes book, Good Calories, Bad Calories.
If genetics is the main reason 67% of the population are overweight or obese, why were only 5% overweight in the 1960’s? Genes don’t mutate that quickly. Yes, people may have a genetic predisposition towards obesity, but it’s lifestyle that makes it their destiny.