U.S. Healthcare Reform: Obesity Must Go
Everyone is doing a boatload of screaming about healthcare lately, and it sounds like everybody has a different vision of how to redo it.
So, no matter what side of the debate you fall on, we can all agree U.S. healthcare is broken and needs to be fixed fast, before it gets worse.
And some health experts think it all starts with obesity, curbing the epidemic early on.
A coalition made up of major health agencies, including the American Diabetes Association, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and two former surgeon generals, wants to slow the obesity epidemic by investing more in health promotion and disease prevention, especially to kids.
The group says we are addicting our children to poor diets--loaded with salt, sugar and fat--and sedentary lifestyles, which leads to cancer, heart disease and diabetes later on, costing us big time. Obesity-related spending contributes $150 billion to healthcare spending each year.
Just another advertisement for prevention-prevention-prevention. But, nowadays urging people to eat healthy and exercise is socialist--weird!
Via HealthDay News.
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People don't like being told what to do - even if it's the best thing for them and the rest of the country. There was a time when the government was considered wise and the people would look to it for guidance. Individual liberty was fine, but it stopped when the decisions of an individual impacted others - the old "my right to swing my arm around ends when my fist hits you in the nose." The problem is, at some point telling a person that they can't smack someone else in the face meant you were infringing on the rights of the first person. It's ridiculous. People want the freedom to drive cars that pollute more than is necessary and eat foods that will damage their health and take up more health care resources - while training their children to do the same. Of course, these tend to be the same people that don't want to pay for public schools or allow a woman to control her reproductive health choices ...
Reply"Of course, these tend to be the same people that don't want to pay for public schools or allow a woman to control her reproductive health choices ..."
These are blatant generalizations.
ReplyYes, but sometimes generalizations are true. Generalization: people with fair skin tend to get sunburns more easily. That's why I said "tend" - obviously it's not true of everyone.
ReplyYeah, let's give the government control of every facet of health care. They can have detailed input into every decision at every level for every person.
But abortion is private. (Except government should pay for it.)
Reply"But abortion is private. (Except government should pay for it.)"
That makes your opinions perfectly clear on things that this post isn't even about.
ReplyThis is a pretty good example of how uneducated some people are about the health care debate. There is not a single person proposing that the government should be involved in every aspect of a person's health nor is anyone saying that the government should have control of every aspect of health care. And, as many people have said over and over again, no one would have to pay for a health care plan that covered abortions if they did not want to. But some people may want to pay into a plan that would cover abortion procedures, and they would have that right as well.
ReplyI certainly DO NOT agree that US health care is broken and needs to be fixed fast. The US has GREAT health care. There are some issues with the cost, but we get outstanding, top quality care for the money we pay.
It doesn't need to be "fixed fast, before it gets worse". That's how you'll make it worse fast. I don't know why we're supposed to believe that the people trying to "fix" it are perfect, never make mistakes, can't possibly be corrupted, and are wiser and more knowledgeable than the doctors and patients they want to oversee -- using force to command the doctors and patients to act against their will. (And their successors are also going to be infallible too, I guess?)
Also, obesity can only be "curbed" by being very responsible. Very responsible people take care of their own problems. They earn their own money. They don't just sit around waiting for the government to write them a check or give them health care. Making people dependent on government will make obesity worse as their responsibility atrophies.
Maybe you want the government to force everyone to lose weight too? They can send people to your house to weigh you and inspect your cupboards and check your government-mandated pedometer armband. Then the IRS can fine you for gaining weight like they'll be fining you for not having a "qualified" health insurance plan. No? Why not?
ReplyThis is the best comment I've ever seen and I agree 110 percent.
Replyfat people and smokers don't cost more...over a life time, healthy people do. healthy people live longer and the cost of health care becomes astronomical as we age. fat people and smokers die off sooner, thus not incurring as much of the costs of the aged.
it would be in this country's interest to let people live until they are 60 or 65 and then give them the pill to end it. Hell, this country reveres the young and likes to toss the elderly aside.
Blame fat people and smokers and the handicapped and and the homeless and the alkies and the druggies. I blame the healthy people that live to 85 and tie up the the hospitals with age related diseases that cost this country a fortune. Ever look into the cost of dimentia?
My point is this. Stop the blame. We are all in this together. Prevention doesn't cost less in medical costs over a lifetime, it costs more.
I'm going to eat now. Lots. Gotta support the economy before the fat tax comes.
ReplyYou misspelled it...it's "dementia", but that's beside the point.
Replythank you. I noticed that after posting.
ReplyI agree that the skinny people are driving up health costs. When you go to the doctor and you are fat, it's the cure all for everything. Even if you are a regular exerciser and in good health. Bad back? The answer is "you are fat. lose weight" Pain in chest? "you are fat, lose weight" Sprain a knee? "you are fat, lose weight" Etc. Etc. The doctors always have a built in answer of you are fat, lose weight and all your ailments will be fixed. No further tests required. But if a skinny person goes to the doctor, the doctor actually has to do their job and doesn't have an easy "you are fat" out. They have to run tests and more tests instead of just sending the person home with the you're fat, lose weight diagnosis.
ReplyWhat I find maddening about this:
1. There is a one-track mindset about weight loss, especially among the medical field and healthcare policy makers... "calorie's in, calorie's out." Meanwhile, a lot of good science that says "wait, it's more complicated than this" is ignored. The low-fat mantra exists because of research by Ancel Keys' 7 countries study. But there were actually more than 20 countries and he ignored data that didn't back up his low-fat theory. He duped the world. And recommendations were made based on his falase and purposely misleading assertions.
2. There's also an insistance that "OBESITY is CAUSING all our other ills" (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, heart disease, etc.). Again, there's a lot of good science being ignored that shows this isn't the case. Being fat isn't causing this - there is mounting evidence that says you can be fat and healthy. Obesity is caused by the same "thing" that is causing these degenerative diseases. It's poor diet that is doing it. The focus needs to shift here, we need to stop fighting obesity and start fighting a poor diet.
3. What constitutes a poor diet? 3 years ago I would have said high-fat, high-sugar was the problem. Now, I don't think the science backs that up. I still think sugar is a problem (and anything that is converted into sugar by the body), but I now believe fat is a very important part of my diet, especially saturated fat. Frankly, the food pyramid is a joke and the US's health problems have sky-rocketed since the the government started meddling with what we should be eating.
The current diet recommendations by the government insist I should not be eating saturated fat or high-fat but I'm doing both and I feel amazing (depression and anxiety alleviated, general mood stabilized, stable energy throughout the day). I think their recommendations are flat out wrong and I'm worried that the next step in their campaign will be to deny me access to the saturated fats I thrive on.
ReplyNot to inject too much personal bias, but what happens to young people like me who are struggling to pay for their own health insurance, which doesn't even provide good coverage (i.e. I haven't people to get my wisdom teeth removed for over a year, they are impacted, and infected, and my insurance won't cover it, my only option is to finance the $3,000-plus myself)?
ReplyOops! I meant "been able to" instead of "people," ADD strikes again!
ReplyUnder every government health care bill currently being considered, a young person's insurance premiums will go a lot higher.
They're going to charge sick people and healthy people the same. They're going to charge the young and the old the same premium. This is to get low-cost people to subsidize high-cost people. It's just another wealth transfer, even though the old are the wealthiest segment of the population and the young are the poorest.
Insurance is supposed to insure the RISK you might get an expensive injury or illness. That's a low risk for young healthy people, so cheap insurance should be available to you. (If it isn't, then it's because your government prohibits it being available.)
Their plans essentially eliminate "risk" insurance in favor of a simple pool where the young and the healthy and the responsible are treated the same as the old and the sick and the irresponsible.
I suggest shopping around for a good price on your dentistry and then put it on a credit card and pay it off over time. Health insurance doesn't usually (ever?) cover dentistry. Get a roommate or drop cable TV service or sell blood plasma or do something else to pay the credit card bill off.
Replyso, with government insurance, my premium will be over $500? cause if it's over $500 a month, then, yeah, government insurance will be more expensive than the crappy insurance policy anthem tried to sell me after they denied me the first time I applied because of a pre-existing condition for which I've never been hospitalized. Oh, also, I had anthem through my parents until I aged off their policy.
I'm 24 years old and I can't get health insurance and neither can three of my friends who are all my age. health care in this country isn't broken? give me a break.
oh, and you're an idiot if you think you can save up yourself for medical bills or you can just "put it on a credit card." that's the reason so many people people declare bankruptcy in this country.
ReplyWhy do people feel entitled? What...you were born in America; therefore, you should get everything handed to you on a silver platter? My husband, a retired army vet of 22 years, is self employed. We don't have dental insurance. A few weeks ago, my son had to have his wisdom teeth pulled for the very same reasons. Guess what. I had to charge the full $2,200 to my credit card and will pay it off in a timely manner. That means no Pizza Friday or Saturday afternoon matinee for a little while. But you do what you got to do. I would never expect the government to give me anything even though my husband served this country!!! Wake up people.
ReplyWhy should someone else pay for your dental problems?
Even though I have dental insurance, when I had a major issue come up, and it paid only $1,500 of my dental work for a year and I needed $22,000 work done, guess what? I set up a payment plan with my dentist and had the work done, paid my bill each month and that was that. I joke that I had the equivalent of a mid-size car in my mouth!
Why is that so difficult for you to accept you need to work out a payment plan? You pay for your car, your house/rent, your cell phone and other things, so why not step-up and be a man and pay what you need to pay for your own dental work? IMO $3,000 quite frankly isn't going to bankrupt you, just do it!
ReplyThe reason: People are not willing to give up luxuries for necessities. If John Smith down the street has a Satellite dish on his roof and a sports car in his driveway, by gosh, I should have one too. It doesn't matter if John Smith worked his butt of for it.
I see this everyday. People go to the grocery store with their food stamp card and purchase what they consider healthy foods then in a seperate transaction buy cigarettes, candy and magazines totalling $50.00+. Anything wrong with this picture?
Reply"I suggest shopping around for a good price on your dentistry and then put it on a credit card and pay it off over time. Health insurance doesn't usually (ever?) cover dentistry. Get a roommate or drop cable TV service or sell blood plasma or do something else to pay the credit card bill off."
That is bizarre thing to say.
ReplyI don't see why. You're the one whining about your dental problem. Why should anyone else care about your dental problem? Go to the dentist and pay the bill, or don't.
When I had dental problems, I went to the dentist and got the problem fixed. I had to pay a large part of the bill myself. It was about $4500. I put it on a credit card. Bizarre or not, the pain went away. I paid the bill over time.
Pretty wacky, I know.
Now I'm going to go eat lunch and pay for it myself. Feel free to be freaked out by that too if you want.
ReplyOnly the blood plasma comment is off the mark. Until we have reform in this country, it's the way things are. You have to make the decision right now as to whether you want cable television or insurance, unless you've already dropped most of your luxuries and still can't afford it; that is a severe indication that something is out of whack.
ReplyI live like a hermit. :(
ReplyInteresting comments. I think the government thinks that somehow eliminating obesity would totally eliminate all sorts of healthcare costs, but that wouldn't necessarily happen. Like Ben mentioned, healthcare costs go up as you get older and have more of a risk of getting cancer or Alzheimer's. I like the idea of charging healthcare premiums based on risk of making a claim, like any other insurance. Maybe that would mean charging obese people a higher premium because they might become diabetic in the future. Your rate would be readjusted every 5 years or so as your risk changes. The government can't force anyone to lose weight, but maybe they could make it in your best interest to do so. Right now, people have absolutely no incentive to be at a healthy weight because they figure if they get sick later, someone will pay for it.
Also, I think a lot of people abuse the healthcare system the way it is now because no one knows how much anything actually costs. Think of it this way: do you take your car to the mechanic when the windshield wipers aren't quite doing their job? No, because you know they'll hose you for doing something you could do yourself. Back in the day, people didn't rush to the doctor for every piddly little thing that went wrong; they went to the doctor when they were sick and most people paid in cash. They didn't abuse the system because they had to pay for it and didn't figure "oh, my insurance will cover it". They had insurance for major medical stuff only...sort of like how car insurance works now: you don't make your insurance pay for repairs to your car, it only pays if you seriously wreck your vehicle.
Reply1. Obesity is caused by a dysfunction of the hypothalamus gland
2. The only way to prevent/control obesity is by adopting a low-carb diet high in fats.
3. Prormote exercise
4. Stop demonizing fat people.
ReplyAlso I object to the author's demonizing of dietary fat. Yes let's cut the sugar by all means, and moderate the salt depending on your blood pressure. But let's stop it with the fat bogeyman! That guy should seriously read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.
ReplyI strongly disagree that health care in the US is broken. It's too expensive and there are way too many people who don't have access to health care and I would love to see those things fixed, but the actual health care itself is, overall, very good. And, a rising obesity rate is a health crisis but it is not an indicator that the health care system is broken. It's an indicator that we American neither eat correctly nor get enough exercise -- we like our fast, fried food; we like our TV's; we spend too much time on the internet; and we love our sugar-filled sodas.
ReplyThere are plenty of healthy people that can't afford healthcare. Yes, this country may have good docs but the insurance companies own the healthcare system & they do not make their decisions based on who needs the help.. People are dying because of the way the insurance companies run this thing.
Everyone with insurance thinks it is great but wait till you get sick or more.. they will drop you before you can turn around or raise your rates sky high. At least 8-10 states allow domestic violence & pregnancy to be a pre-existing condition. I think this is all craziness. Everyone deserves the right to live.
Be self employed or in a very small business & see if you can afford healthcare that actually covers something.
I know there are many of you out there that will shoot this down & have in the past on posts like this but people should not be dying here in the US because insurance companies need their billions of dollars of profit. They are crooks in my eyes.
Replyinsurance companies profit is about 2-3 percent. Profit is not evil. Tort reform needs to be addressed so that doctors can stop practicing defensive medicine. Lawyers own the system. Insurance companies need to be allowed to sell across state lines so that competition can be increased. Competition is a good thing.
ReplyFunny how everyone has their own "pet factor", depending on whether they are democrat or republican, or "independent". this is why I can't stand ideologies because they obfuscate facts.
First, insurance comnpanies net profit is 2-3 percent on billions AFTER they pay all of their executives fat salaries. Furthermore, there are multiple factors that drive up the cost of health care. This INCLUDES, but is not limited to: tort reform, insurance company profits, inefficiencies in medical record-keeping, irresponsibility of patients, "utilization" of expensive equipment by doctors, and other factors such as elitist demands on doctors.
Second, as correctly stated above, the obesity problem will not be solved by concentrating on obesity. This is not simply a comorbidity to heart disease, either. Fat, especially intraabdominal fat, changes the hormonal environment. So, obesity is both a common effect AND a cause of heart disease and other issues.
Third, this tendency among some to say "tough luck", pay for it yourself, earn more money, is not only callous, but a stupid argument logically. The FACT is, if the health care of others is not taken care of, they still live here with you. They will still cause you problems whether they are tax problems or not. When too many people get sick, or die early, it affects all kinds of things, such as GDP (economy), and overall morale (economy).
Look at all the factors, not just the ones that make you more comfortable about what you already think. Not just the factors that make you feel better about how great or how smart you are. Sorry if this is harsh, but I am sick (no pun intended) of the constant "this is someone else's problem" philosophy, and the clinging to one dimensional ideologies. Not helpful (and I am speaking to "liberals", "moderates", and "conservatives" when I say this.
ReplyI would say that utilization of expensive equipment by doctors is a result of the high cost of protecting themselves against lawsuits. Would you also agree that competition among 1500 insurers across the country as opposed to a few in each state would help tremendously in cutting the cost of health insurance? And finally, I would agree with inefficiencies in medical record keeping, however that's a problem that needs to be addressed with both private and public insurance. And finally, what incentive does public insurance have to keep costs down?
ReplyPublic insurance will keep costs down because insurance companies with their profit seeking will no longer have patients by the proverbial balls as the only option for basic healthcare.
Why can't people see that?
ReplyPeople do see that. While there is a dislike for insurance, there is an equal distrust for the public option and the ever expanding role of government in everyone's lives, especially right now after that behemoth waste of a stimulus package was jammed down our throats.
I could go on with more discussion, but at this point, your tone is mildly irritating to say the least. And my tone is probably just as bad and if I continue it will get worse.
I'm going to step back, refocus, and step away from this blog for awhile. Good luck.
ReplyEveryone deserves the right to be unmolested by the government. But no one deserves the right to free health care.
ReplyWhy do you keep saying free? What's wrong with affordable? Do you have any idea how close most middle class families are to being completely bankrupted by a medical issue?
ReplyAlso you should stick to what you know - fitness and stay out of politics.
Replythat wasn't very nice. apologize. she made some good points.
ReplySince we do not know anything about you, give us your political background. And a person is not proficient in one thing. Some people actually learn about multiple things.
Also, when people do not have insurance & wait... or go to emergency rooms or don't pay, that effects everyone's rates. AND, with pre-existing conditions, even if you have insurance, you can end up bankrupt due to the insurance companies OR they will not cover a certain procedure so by the time they will actually do something, it is so bad that they end up footing way higher bills then just preventative medicine.
There are so many factors that come into this. And, no, it is not free healthcare. We will all have to pay but making pre-existing conditions illegal is a huge step in all of this along with many of the other problems including if you have insurance & still can't be covered for certain things.
ReplyInsurance companies are not in the charity business. If you make pre-existing conditions illegal, you will simply put them out of business. But people like you don't think anyone has a moral right to make a profit in medicine anyways.
ReplyI did not say any such thing. As usual, you just pick out what you want to hear.... You are crazy if you think insurance companies will go out of business due to eliminating pre-existing conditions. You can keep on ranting and yell at others while you ALWAYS hear only one side, your own.
Oh, I noticed you did not offer up any info on yourself. What makes you the expert?
ReplySo, ArrowSmith, let's follow this through...What are you proposing happens to those who can't afford insurance?
Because it seems you are proposing that this ends in death for them.
What's funny is everyone talks about "keeping government hands out of health care", as if government has some diabolical takeover scheme in mind. What you need to realize is that once you depend on insurance companies only for your health care (and they have ACTUAL death panels by the way), THEY are now your NEW government - at least as far as your internal organs are concerned.
Do you think that there are those that have a right to make decisions about people's treatment / lives based on profit margin? Or are you one of those who holds unfettered capitalism up as some sort of god?
ReplySo you basically are making the moral case that everyone deserves medical care regardless of ability to pay.
ReplyArrowsmith - care to elaborate on Kwame's and Jody's comments? From where I'm sitting it looks as though you've chosen the red herring route rather than engaging in what could be a very enlightening discussion.
ReplyI am not only making the moral case, but the logical case as well. On the converse, are you making the case that we shouldn't work together to provide that?
Those who don't make much money shouldn't be able to afford all the luxuries and extras, like nice cars and cable.
But health care? Would you or anyone else make the case that we should just let people die because they are poor? Because if you follow that "free market" and "tough luck" graph out, this is where it ends. If you are poor and get sick, oh well.
It is easy to sit back and say tough luck. Me, I say that while we educate children on healthy eating, and show them fun and rewarding ways to keep moving and lead active lifestyles...while we continue to promote education...while we continue to find the best structure and regulatory measures for fair and equitable capitalism (the overwhelming data shows that unfettered is disastrous)...while we do all that...let's take care of our own. Unless we really are that selfish and narcissistic to believe that if someone else doesn't have the means, then its because they aren't as good as we are.
ReplyWhy shouldn't providing medical care despite the ability to pay for it be a moral issue? It sickens me that people like ArrowSmith actually believe that allowing someone to DIE because they can't afford to pay a doctor is ok. It seems ludicrous that we're even considering whether it's moral or not. We're talking about human life here....
ReplyBut you think it's ok to steal someone else's money to pay for someone's health care services. That's apparently morally OK.
ReplyLet's not mention even that the proposal has the public option being bought into, not funded by tax dollars.
Furthermore, agreeeing as a society to pay a central organization (the government) to build programs that serve the less fortunate is not stealing. It's called sharing, brother. Or did you fail kindergarten.
Again, I will ask, to what destination do you follow your logic? You have skirted this question with every post, instead picking hyper-emotional responses.
ReplyFurthermore, what do you call it when insurance companies and pharma drive up costs to line the pockets of executives? so, that's not stealing, but the government using taxes to provide for people who really need it is?
I can't believe that you actually have it backwards. What we have right now is a healthcare system based on the demands and philosophy of the elite.
ReplyDr. Brown & Mike... thank you! I did still notice that Arrowsmith does not tell us what he does.. is he part of the insurance industry?
Dr. Brown, you are much better at putting those thoughts to word than I am. As we all know, small business & self employed are a huge part of this country yet, they are the ones, the middle class, that can't afford healthcare. Also, many very important jobs don't get paid well & are also at risk for no healthcare. They may work for a company yet if their pay is so low, there is not always money left over for this.
I also was so very surprised to hear that there are 10 states, I believe that is the number, that insurance companies can deny women that have been domestically abused. Now what does that say? Also, if a woman is pregnant, some states let that be a reason not to cover her. Is that true healthcare?
Again, thx to Dr. Brown & Mike. Even if you disagreed, there are better ways to do it than Arrowsmith & not engaging in a better way.
ReplyThanks so much Jody. I will say this: This problem, coupled with the credit issue in America, will bring our economy down faster than anything else ever could.
It starts with combining industry regulation, and prevention. I saw a comment on CNN today about the healthcare proposal, where someone said that taxes should be used for "things society needs" like bridges. A society doesn't need healthcare?
As someone who works every day in prevention in the community, I appreciate those of you here who are not looking to oversimplify and lay blame, but trying to solve this problem sensibly.
We cannot depend solely on our legislators. We must speak up (I include those who disagree with my stance that have VALID arguments here). Please, everyone, think through what your positions are. Do the research, inform yourself. Engage in civil well thought out discussions (like this blog).
ReplyDo you even care that we're running $2 trillion deficits? We're bankrupting the country in the name of all these things we "need". Let's get our financial house in order first, then start looking at spending programs.
ReplyDo you NOT get the connection between healthcare and the economy?
The economy isn't made better by the stock market doing well. It is made better when families do well.
This is part of that. This is about reform. They are trying their best to do this in a cost central manner, I don't think they will, but some things have to be done.
I did not agree with the tax stimulus where we all got 600.00, that was a stupid program. But healthcare? This is necessary.
Sometimes, trying to "save" and "scrimp" your way out of a deficit does not work. FDR SPENT MONEY getting us out of the great depression. Did you know that? That was part of the New Deal, and it's why we have the infrastructure we do now. Again, inform yourself.
ReplyI thought this was a diet blog site. I have been a long time reader and am now no longer interested in coming here. Too many people ramble on about issues they no nothing about. Your political opinion (and that's all it is, and opinion) does not belong here so take your political views to an appropriate venue and leave this site for diet discussions.
ReplyObesity is a problem in the U.S as it is in Canada. I'm happy to hear that the U.S government is stepping in to ensure people are aware of the circumstances if families continue to feed their children (including themselves) with fatty foods on a consistent basis. It's ok to eat Mcdonalds or a all you can eat buffet every once a while, but not everyday! I just recently changed my lifestyle for the better and I'll never look back. I now exercise regularly (where before I used the excuse - "I don't have time") and now eat like a pig once a week, instead of 3,4,5 times a week. I documented my progress in a workout journal (I'll be at day 100 tomorrow)with before and after pictures. take a look if you have time. =)
Reply