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as i said in the post. they screwed the poor smokers right to the wall. it was insane. glad i quit, and thank you Allen Carr.
Should medically judged fat people pay higher medical costs?
I'm sorry but that's just not an answer. I'm by no means a political conservative or progressive, but to have a position of, as you do, "Well poor people all eat fattening food so we have to base everything our society does off that reality" is deeply flawed any way you cut it.
Poor people are always going to eat fattening food, no matter what. They're uneducated and that's why. They smoke. They don't exercise. They don't use birth control. They have children at 17. It isn't a matter of wealth. Eating healthy can be extremely cheap too. Eating fattening foods is actually rather expensive. It isn't cheap as you claim it is. MacDonald's takes money. The grocery store is cheaper by far.
Either way, as a liberal poster posted previously, fat people actually do end up over long periods of time paying more for health care, obviously, but not near enough compared to what they end up costing non fat people in the short and medium term.
If a fat person has to make 15 doctor trips from age 50-60 and a non fat person has to make 5 doctor trips from 50-60, how is that fair that the non fat persons bills are heavily influenced by the fat persons as obviously the industry does? It is basically indirect theft of people who stay healthy.
Encouraging and rewarding healthy lifestyles is not 'shaming.'
Let me give you a real life situation: Methamphetamine producers/dealers frequently get severe burns over large portions of their bodies when a batch blows up all over them. I know of one burn unit that had to treat so many injured, uninsured meth producers that it was well on the way to closing its doors due to lack of funding. In fact, it may already have, I have not talked to anyone who would know lately. Treatment of serious burns involves long expensive hospitalizations, expensive surgeries like skin grafts, and expensive medications to prevent or treat infections. So, we are all equal in your eyes. Go cook yourself along with your batch of meth and Dr. Feelgood will treat you with the most modern methods available to medical science with no regard for the cost to people who likely are just scraping by in their own households to pay the bills.
That is a really lopsided house you are building there. People really need to expect to have to be responsible for the choices they make in life. Granted there are many illnesses that are not so clear cut, and with medications that cause metabolic changes, obesity is one. But cooking meth , smoking, doing drugs, driving while drunk, and many other things are choices. Making those choices should come with a price for the person who made them.
65 and older get Medicare.
Well, there is an alternative, but it isn't very popular.
OK, well, that was a little convoluted, but I think I get what you are saying. But bear in mind that obesity is not always caused by over eating. There are medications and metabolic illnesses that cause people who eat reasonably to be obese.
People who are overweight, people who do drugs, people who smoke, people who engage in hazardous activities (motorcycle racing, base jumping), people who refuse to exercise, all should pay more for health care.
People who have medical conditions that they can't change through a change of lifestyle should not.
The rationale is to provide an incentive to change unhealthy lifestyle choices.
No, the alternative to getting old is to die young. It's not a popular option.Is that supposed to be funny? The alternative is to use valid actuarial risk factors for setting health insurance premium rates, just as was done by the states for medical care insurance prior to PPACA and continues to be the case for other forms of "private" insurance. To place such severe, and arbitrary, restrictions on actuarial health risk factors is political correctness run amok.
No, the alternative to getting old is to die young. It's not a popular option.
Moderator's Warning: |
Should medically judged fat people pay higher medical costs?
I think it's disgraceful that people continue to make such suggestions to penalize people who suffer from genetic imperfections and being fat has as much to do with genetics as anything else and medical science is becoming more aware of the connections every day.
Based on a large national study, body mass index (or BMI, an indicator of excess body fat) was higher every year between 1986 and 2002 among adults in the lowest income group and the lowest education group than among those in the highest income and education groups, respectively (Truong & Sturm, 2005).
Can you tell us what percentage of overweight people are in that condition due to genetics and which ones are there because of over eating?
They should pay their medical bills regardless. You pay for yours, I'll pay for mine, they can pay for theirs.Should medically judged fat people pay higher medical costs?
Mine is the same but in my defense I have a bad back, bad knees and arthritis. I have enough braces, heating pads, ice packs, comfort cushions, NSAIDS, meds, creams, roll on's and patches to start a pharmacy. I eat half the calories I used too in my 30's and still struggle with weight gain.
Sorry to hear that, and that's another issue. Some people cannot help but be overweight because of their limited mobility.
Thank you.
Don't get me wrong, I have a good life, it's just hard sometimes. I used to be quite active, but painful joints will force you to slow down.
You're welcome. I do a lot of strength training in the hopes of preventing those kinds of issues as I age. I've heard that if you strengthen the muscles around those joints, they aren't as bothersome.
I was an athlete and did a lot of physical training most my life, which I thought was helping me. But it's the very, over exertion of my muscles and the corresponding joints that caused the wear, tear and eventual damage. Much of my arthritis is do to my strenuous exercising, according to my doctors. I asked them, what should I have done, and they said, less impact and more moderation. We thought "no pain, no gain" back then, but now they know better.
If you look at the statistics, professional athletes in general have more physical problems from overuse, less quality and shorter life spans. Even with arthritis, you need to do some movement but it varies, day to day and is extremely limited.
Of course much of this is situational and genetics, but I can't stress enough low impact, like swimming, yoga, Thai Chi, cycling and walking. Running, stepping, climbing, skiing, and any sports with contact are all very rough on you in old age. Even golfing can be hazardous, if you're an intense player.
Yes, the most strenuous sport I've ever done was gymnastics, and that was years ago when I was like 10 or 12 years old. I've never done contact sports or anything like that. I do find that after working (sitting in my stupid chair), my neck and shoulders bother me, but if I exercise, the pain is MUCH less.
A common area for wear and tear is the C4 vertebrae disk in the neck area, basically the one your head swivels on. Mine is damaged and causes me pain if I sleep wrong or run too much hot water on it. Also, holding your arm in an outward position for a long period, like a computer mouse will set it off.
Women are more susceptible to Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. You sound like you're being pretty smart about your exercise routine, so hopefully you'll stay healthy into your senior years. :mrgreen:
Thanks, and what you describe above sounds exactly like my problem with my neck and shoulders. It only hurts when I'm working though, something about my computer chair I think. I think I should look into getting a new chair.
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