Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But, they don't die off early anymore, mathguy. In previous generations, what you suggest was true, but today they're lining up for angioplasty & bypass surgery, which can add many more years to their lifespans. My own father is an example. Most of the men in previous generations of his family died of heart failure by age 50. My Dad turns 70 next year, and between his quadruple bypass, follow-up care, & medications, I'm sure his bills are well into the six figures.
Yes, they should be. But they're not. Some people are not as smart as you are. But some people are smarter than you are. What should THEY do about YOU?
But, they don't die off early anymore, mathguy. In previous generations, what you suggest was true, but today they're lining up for angioplasty & bypass surgery, which can add many more years to their lifespans. My own father is an example. Most of the men in previous generations of his family died of heart failure by age 50. My Dad turns 70 next year, and between his quadruple bypass, follow-up care, & medications, I'm sure his bills are well into the six figures.
Yep. Hard to say though and it is very difficult to quantify.
until all esoteric factors are in, it is a safe stance that obesity costs more to care for.,
I'm not sure it's that clear cut. It's an incredibly complicated issue. Surely they'd collect (on average) a lot less in social security...the lifetime medical costs might be higher though...then factor in dozens of other isssues.
I have just recently started thinking about improving my eating habits and the fact that a couple of generations of Americans have basically been eating processed crap without really thinking about the effects on health. (I even posted about it! See here: https://www.city-data.com/forum/healt...oper-diet.html)
Anyway.... I DO think fast food joints are a problem in that they can cause poor health.... BUT I DO NOT think Gov't intervention or taxes is the ANSWER !!!
We just need to educate people to eat "clean". I do not do enough of this myself.... but I plan to move in that direction more and more in the near future.
A good question and worth debate.
This is indeed a complex issue and that's why it hasn't been solved yet.
Obesity is a huge contributor to the cost of Medicare, hence the Government and hence, us.
Basically, I pay more because people are unable to make healthy decisions.
There's been some discussion on the hill about placing a tax on soda.
Haven't heard anything on this for a week or so but it won't do anything; not if it's only going to be 10 cents a can.
A few months ago a county in L.A. banned fast food companies. Remember that?
The thing is it's not fair to ban or tax things for those who do look after themselves health wise.
AND there's no way you can tax or ban those that are obese.
So what's the answer?
I think it will come down to legislation placing strict limits on how much fat is allowed in a burger.
Really.
Remember when the trans fat thing started in NY?
It's just a matter of degree.
We live in a society full of lazy and stupid people.
I mean come on. How can anyone think a Big Mac is yummy!!??
They either don't realize or ignore it's cheaper and better to eat at home.
AND it's these stupid parents that are teaching their children to do the same.
Because of this fact I think regulating ingredients may be the only way to solve it other than education which is not working.
Maybe we could start by having classes on nutrition?
Ohhhhhhhhhh.
In the HR3200 health reform bill (which will not pass thank god) it actually touched on this subject and said it would send members of the public health department into peoples homes to educate them on health issues.
Their target would be lower income homes.
Mmmmm. Scary stuff!
Easier to regulate what fast food companies do, it's really the only answer and why not?
We regulate everything else don't we?
would that help? even healthier food can be binged on, the problem isn't some fatass eating ONE bigmac a day, its about that guy eating 5 in a seating every day.
would that help? even healthier food can be binged on, the problem isn't some fatass eating ONE bigmac a day, its about that guy eating 5 in a seating every day.
Yes it would. At least be a start.
If I eat 2 bowels of home made pasta and a soup and the other guy eats 5 Big Macs, I'm going to live longer.
The problem is people eat this stuff more than once or twice a week.
We don't cook anymore, not like we used to.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh. I just had an idea!
Why don't we stimulate the economy AND reduce fast food intake by doing this.
Let's have the government pay people to buy fresh foods!!
When you go shopping, if you buy stuff that requires cooking you get a 20% tax break on what you spent all year!!??
Something like that anyway.
Maybe give households $10,000 a year to shop for ONLY fresh foods!
They could issue a card like a food stamp card or something.
Mmmmm. I might be onto something here.
Hey, not so silly when you realize that only 10% of the stimulus has been spent and most of it has been a waste anyway and it won't stimulate the economy anyway
" you might say im a dreamer.. but im not the only one..."
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
