Obeisity Responsible For High Cost of Health Care

[celtic_crippler]

The study by government scientists and the nonprofit research group RTI International says obesity-related health spending has doubled in the past 10 years to $147 billion, USA TODAY reports

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/07/study-blames-obesity-for-high-cost-of-health-care.html

They say over 1/3 of Americans are obese!

So...with the push for National Health Care reform and government sponsored Health Insurance...

How long before cheeseburgers and fried chicken become the new cigarettes? Remember what happened to those?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Agreed. When the costs of health care are directly expressed as taxes, it becomes the government's mandate to reduce those costs by forcing those responsible for it to change their ways.

It already happens in the private sector. At a former employer, employees are forced to take an annual health evaluation test. Those who are 'recommended' to begin to lose weight are offered an incentive of slightly lowered rates if they do lose weight. However, if they fail to lose weight, they are penalized with higher deductibles, and if they still fail to lose weight, they lose their health care benefits entirely. It is now your employer's business what you weigh and yes, they can force you to get healthy or refuse to provide group health insurance. When that shifts to the US government, the same rules will apply, I'm sure.

Sucks.

 

[celtic_crippler]

They will take my drumstick when they can pry it from my cold, dead hand. LOL

...I love me some fried chicken & sweet tea! LOL

 

[celtic_crippler]

...as evidenced here:

 

[Satt]

...as evidenced here:

I can just see the pure joy on your face...I am right there with ya!!!

:fanboy:

 

[celtic_crippler]

I can just see the pure joy on your face...I am right there with ya!!!

:fanboy:

When I come to the farm, the chickens run to the fox for protection.

 

[theletch1]

I can see the new tax forms already. 3% over you max allowable BMI? Well, that's an extra 3% on your taxes. 3% under...refund? No, you'll not get a cut for being under because you'll still have to pay your full share to help run the gov't office that'll have to be set up to make sure you're within you limits.

 

[Omar B]

It's a slippery slope when the government might get a chance to decide who is healthy and by what criteria. Scary.

 

[Carol]

My experience was not as extreme as Bill, but I am seeing it too in the private sector.

My training has been hindered by horrible back pain. Through the help of some good docs, I was able to find a surgical procedure that can help. I met with an experienced surgeon and she asked me to lose 20 pounds first. She is saying that she is beginning to see claims for elective surgery denied when the patients have a BMI of 30 or higher.

Its a catch 22 for me. I want to get the surgery so I can be more active....and I HATE going under the knife.

What is even more humiliating is that my close friend is basically my size. I'm 5' 2", she's 5' 1" and we are similar enough in proportion to be able to wear each others clothes. She does very little exercise. I do some. She does not have good muscle tone. I'm stronger than most of my friends. She is 20 pounds lighter than me, and has a BMI of less than 30. My BMI is over 30, but I can carry a lot more boxes. But the rules say, I am obese and she is not. WTF?

 

[JDenver]

I remember driving into South Dakota last year.

For breakfast we had some eggs and pancakes and such. They asked us what we wanted for DESSERT. At breakfast.

For lunch our giant bread sandwiches came with choice of potato. Carbs on top of carbs. I don't think once that entire trip I actually finished a meal they were consistently so enormous.

Crazy.

 

[terryl965]

Well food is the number three thing in my life after wife and kids, so I eat because I like too. I loose wieght because it makes my 15 year old happy if dad is around longer, so I exorcise to loose the wieght I put on everyday. **** the government and all those skinny people and let me live my life with the pleasur eof knowing there is a peach cobbler with my name on it.

 

[Omar B]

I remember driving into South Dakota last year.
For breakfast we had some eggs and pancakes and such. They asked us what we wanted for DESSERT. At breakfast.
For lunch our giant bread sandwiches came with choice of potato. Carbs on top of carbs. I don't think once that entire trip I actually finished a meal they were consistently so enormous.
Crazy.

I've seen such things. Places that have no idea of what portion control means. Though it is a business and the more they sell you the better it is for their bottom line. Hell, when I was a waiter I was guilty of the same offense. Most of the time, the regular meal for one person can easily serve for 2 as is, or if you order 1 extra side.

 

[CoryKS]

I can see the new tax forms already. 3% over you max allowable BMI? Well, that's an extra 3% on your taxes. 3% under...refund? No, you'll not get a cut for being under because you'll still have to pay your full share to help run the gov't office that'll have to be set up to make sure you're within you limits.

Won't happen. An obesity tax would hit a lot of poor people. They'll find a way to blame obesity on rich people and send them the bill.

 

[KELLYG]

Imperial BMI Formula

The imperial bmi formula accepts weight measurements in pounds & height measurements in either inches or feet.
1 foot = 12 inches
inches² = inches * inches
Table: Imperial BMIFormula FormulaBMI =
( kg/m² ) (weight in pounds * 703 )————————————height in inches²


Metric Imperial BMI Formula

The metric bmi formula accepts weight measurements in kilograms & height measurements in either cm's or meters.
1 meter = 100cms
meters² = meters * meters
Table: Metric BMI FormulaBMI =
( kg/m² )weight in kilograms————————————height in meters²

The above mentioned BMI calculator is what most DR offices use to calculate the % of fat. This is a very inaccurate tool. This does not take into consideration that very active people, people that lift weights or are very fit have more weight that is muscle and not fat. BMI does not calculate your own personal % of fat. So if they are going to start making you pay higher insurance premiums, wait to have to have surgery then it needs to be more accurate. I read somewhere that when Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the top of his form with BMI calculation's he would be described as morbidly obese. Try for yourself calculate your BMI and then multiply it by your weight to see how many pounds it suggest that you carry extra in just body fat. It will blow your mind. My extra fat is 50.75 lbs. Now that is a WTF moment.

 

[Ken Morgan]

According to the BMI scale, I’m obese.

I’m 5’6” and weight about 190#. With a 33” waist.

It says I should be under 150#, preferably about 135 – 140.

There is no chance in the world I can get there. When I did a body building show a few years back, I had to run 50km a week, weigh every piece of food and hit the gym 1 ½ hours a day to get that low. My ideal weight should be around 177#. I feel good at that weight and look, if I do say so myself, amazing .

I hear you, the traditional tables do not take into account health, cardio ability or how much muscle mass you carry.

Because someone puts a massive plate of food in front of you, does not mean you have to eat it. Once you get into the habit of eating right, it’s actually easy, and can be, if you’re careful, inexpensive.

 

[bekkilyn]

Carol, it could be that some or most of your 20 pounds is muscle weight, and since your friend doesn't have much muscle, that's why she weighs 20 pounds lighter. Did your doctor actually test your BMI or did she just put you on the scale and then looked on the height/weight chart for the average BMI for your height/weight?

If she just looked at the chart, then 30% may not be very accurate for your activity level, muscle mass, etc. Yours may actually be lower, so you would really need to have an actual BMI test.

 

[Flea]

Another divine irony is that some medications cause people to have an astronomical weight gain as a side effect. A few years ago there was a class action lawsuit over Zyprexa because of the high proportion of people on it getting diabetes.

I wonder how health care plans charging for obesity would address that?

 

[DergaSmash]

The biggest problem is the changes in diet in the last 50-100 years. Back at the turn of the century up until just after World War 2 there was no enriched bleached flour or high fructose corn syrup. Even foods deemed health are packed with excess carbohydrates which has been shown to play a more critical role in triglyceride levels than fat intake. After prolonged intake of excess carbohydrates, the body becomes insulin resistant, if not corrected it leads to type 2 Diabetes. This combined with the lower activity levels of today's society is a recipe for disaster. Most people don't work (physically) as hard as people of a few generations ago. Now we have things like video games, the internet, etc. It's easy to see how this happened.

 

[JDenver]

The biggest problem is the changes in diet in the last 50-100 years. Back at the turn of the century up until just after World War 2 there was no enriched bleached flour or high fructose corn syrup. Even foods deemed health are packed with excess carbohydrates which has been shown to play a more critical role in triglyceride levels than fat intake. After prolonged intake of excess carbohydrates, the body becomes insulin resistant, if not corrected it leads to type 2 Diabetes. This combined with the lower activity levels of today's society is a recipe for disaster. Most people don't work (physically) as hard as people of a few generations ago. Now we have things like video games, the internet, etc. It's easy to see how this happened.

I agree.

I also wanna add that more and more people are self medicating through food intake. Our society drives people to numbing themselves. It's no wonder that in other societies, healthier ones, people are so happy. Happiness and health work symbiotically.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Happiness and health work symbiotically.

True that. A concept lost on the work-a-holics of the U.S.