This thread will be written for the US but feel free to comment on an international level.
So as far as I know we have laws that protect people from themselves…ie Suicide is illegal, drugs that are bad for health and or society like Crack or Heroin are illegal. I’m guessing the root for these laws is so we have a healthier more productive society.
It is my opinion that the government should set up offices where every 6 months you have to go in to get a health review. Using your age, body fat percentage and cholesterol level you will be given a health rating. This health rating will be put on your license like the rest of your information.
Stores and eateries will then check ID when people want to buy unhealthy food. If you have a high enough rating you are allowed to eat the 2 donuts and coffee for breakfast. If you are fat and unhealthy you have to eat the oatmeal and fresh fruit.
If we have that foundation of law to protect people from themselves I think we should start applying that to people’s diet and health.
EXAMPLE:
I was in the mall today and went to the bathroom. There was a man probably late fifties with one of those power scooter wheel chair things. While I was performing my bathroom duties I felt bad for him as that must be a hassle to go in public bathrooms. But then he gets up out of the stall and sits back down in his chair. So now I realize he isn’t handicapped, he’s just so fat and lazy he uses a scooter to get around.
Now I just ordered my lunch which was a half sandwich and soup, when the fat tank rolls up behind me in line. As I’m waiting for my food I hear him ask for 1 dozen of the double chocolate cookies. I almost lost it and grabbed the cane of the back of his scooter and gave him an old fashion beating. It literally made me sick and totally disgusted. I was basically watching a pathetic man kill himself. He’s so fat an unhealthy he has to scoot around places, and he’s ordering more cookies. I would relate this to watching a rail thin heroin junkie shoot up in front of me and then pass out in his own crap.
Ok, that is a summation of why I feel this law needs to be put in place.
Today there was a discussion on the news about whether the gov’t should help people to be not obese. You know - I had always thought that the percentage of obese people in the US was 40%, but my facts are a decade off. I’m surprised to see that the percentage of obese people is somewhere around 60-70% in the US.
Sure, but why not try to give people added incentives to not ruin their health? There are no advantages to being obese, and the list of diseases and health problems associated with being obese are long.
If someone chooses to be morbidly obese, I say more carbs/fat to them Though, I am not sure how many consciously choose to be obese. I am not advocating forcing people to do situps everyday. Something like - let’s say - a 2% tax break if you attend a fitness center regularly or something.
I’m sure the 2% the gov’t spends could be saved through greater productivity due to more healthy people.
I think I was talking about how you could will yourself into not being affected by obese people. Yes, you could give people added incentives, that would be good.
I look at it from an economic point of view. When people are healthy, they take fewer sick days off from work. That means on average, people do more work in a reasonable amount of time. Money that is spent on hospital visits could be spent on other causes.
According to a paper I was reading in an economics journal, the costs of obesity in 1995 was around 100 billion dollars, of which 50 billion was due to healthcare costs. There were about 40 million days of lost work.
Here is an online summary of the article I was reading (I can’t find the original full-length thing):
The total cost attributable to obesity amounted to $99.2 billion dollars in 1995. Approximately $51.64 billion of those dollars were direct medical costs. Using the 1994 NHIS data, cost of lost productivity attributed to obesity (BMI> or =30) was $3.9 billion and reflected 39.2 million days of lost work. In addition, 239 million restricted-activity days, 89.5 million bed-days, and 62.6 million physician visits were attributable to obesity in 1994. Compared with 1988 NHIS data, in 1994 the number of restricted-activity days (36%), bed-days (28%), and work-lost days (50%) increased substantially. The number of physician visits attributed to obesity increased 88% from 1988 to 1994. The economic and personal health costs of overweight and obesity are enormous and compromise the health of the United States. The direct costs associated with obesity represent 5.7% of our National Health Expenditure in the United States.
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$55 Billion would probably be enough to reduce the unemployment rate in a large part of the country to 0 while paying people above the national average income and keep them employed for at least a few years. A small percentage of that could do a lot for our education system, security at shipyards, upgraded fire/police stations, etc.
Besides, the US not being obese could be one less thing the rest of the world can not poke fun at us about
Though, I am not sure how many consciously choose to be obese. I am not advocating forcing people to do situps everyday. Something like - let’s say - a 2% tax break if you attend a fitness center regularly or something.