[chet lemon]

Well, after living 7 years in Michigan it is culturally aligned to essentially all midwestern/southern states in its eating habits. Start a campaign against gluttony or diabetes or hypertension or angioplasty or etc etc.. Otherwise the predominant culture will not change, though I know you're just venting on the forum.

Unfortunately the values are somewhat fatalistic, IMO, since most people are very religious and if they explode in a liquid mosaic of fat then mission accomplished, as heaven awaits where they want to eventuate anyways. Who would wantonly choose the fast-track to death and all of the weight-related maladies otherwise? They also justify various genetic factors as an excuse for their size, when the epidemic of obesity grows every year - living in Sweden for a few years, I never saw anything close to the level of large than that of the American heartland.

It's frustrating as I know numerous people with this attitude who I care about back there, but their fate is sealed with their immovable attitudes towards caring for themselves. In the end, people are free to choose, which is the only thing that counts of course. However, don't siphon away tax dollars to fund your end-of-life quad bypass due to throwing yourself under the bus - people want inexpensive health care, but don't realize that maintenance is key to controlling costs; just like a car. You don't wait until the motor shuts down because the oil is burned off - you do regular checkups. This is the prime reason to be disgusted by these individuals; selfish yet wanting society to care for them.

[scolls]

Funny how someone in Sweeden can ***** about tax dollars being used for health care

[1coolcustomer]

Originally Posted by idw2s

What is the cause of the obesity?

IMO, it's the notion that people must have 3 meals a day, breakfast,lunch and dinner. This nonsense begins at a very early age, pretty much upon entering kindergarten. Back in the day when I was in elementery school there was no such thing as breakfast served at school, then some experts came along and said if you don't eat breakfast it affects your ability to learn.

I've always lived by the credo....eat when your hungry, not because it's 7Am, 12 noon, 6pm. I'll often go all day with eating nothing and then eat a big dinner and a small snack before bed and have never had weight problem in my life. Most people I have ever come across in life that are obese don't skip a meal, it's like clockwork, they have to have 3 meals a day.

All we are as humans are advanced animals and you don't see animals eating 3 meals a day. Lions, hyenas, birds of prey, marine life, reptiles, etc. go days or even weeks w/o food and they're surviving and physically fit. You think early man, the cro magnons ate 3 meals a day? hell no, one bad throw of the spear and no dinner for them that night, it didn't kill them.

[wagonman76]

^ same here.

Also the idea that gets pushed onto a lot of kids (because their parents and grandparents taught them the same thing) to always clean your plate or you sit at the table till you do. Kids get used to jamming themselves fuller than they should and eventually eating too much for their body is just second nature.

Sorry I won't raise my kids that way. If they're not hungry enough to eat it now, I won't make them eat it now. It goes in the fridge for later and when they come back a few hours later and say "I'm hungry" I say "you've still got food in the fridge".

[actinic]

Originally Posted by scolls

I love how fat people are to blame for high health cost. I don't think it could possibly be the insurance companies and there billions of dollars in profits.

Yeah, just think how much money the insurance companies would lose if people started staying in shape!

[goncnc]

This has got to be one of the more ignorant threads I have read, Educate yourself, Some people like 300 lb women who come out o'naturale, and who says that they have to have gotten larger than what your used to on a bridge card? People come in all shapes and sizes, there is no NORM, it is an average of all sizes divided by the number of participants. Example weight a baby and then an adult, come up with your perverable average, is it a true measure? I think not. If you like the coast go back so those 300 lb women can have more room to move about.

[chet lemon]

Originally Posted by scolls

Funny how someone in Sweeden can ***** about tax dollars being used for health care

Our system serves less per capita and uses more dollars, adjusted. Note however that Sweden's system is also going bankrupt, and is not sustainable.


My post was directed towards the obese who want all the health care but do little to manage their own. They are two distinct points - I did not laud Sweden's heath care system whatsoever, as you indicate. I only used them as an example for those here who exclaim that their obesity is purely genetic.

[Tricia819]

Originally Posted by chet lemon

My post was directed towards the obese who want all the health care but do little to manage their own.

The same can be said for smokers, alcoholics, and habitual drug users.

According to my BMI I need to lose 80-90 lbs. Yet, I don't have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or any other supposedly weight related maladies. As my doctor told me...I'm boring.

[actinic]

Originally Posted by Tricia819

The same can be said for smokers, alcoholics, and habitual drug users.

The difference is the % of smokers has been dropping for years.

[Tricia819]

And I forgot a category. People who don't use safety equipment. If I were an insurance company I'd put a clause in auto coverage that your policy will not cover medical expenses that could have been prevented by wearing a seatbelt or a helmet if they're on a motorcycle. It's a lot easier to prove it was negligence than proving someone who is obese doesn't take care of themselves.

I may not live on tofu and wheat grass, but I watch what I eat. I exercise vigorously and regularly, and yet I'm still nearly a hundred pounds overweight according to my BMI. Yet, I've heard people suggesting I should have to pay extra for EVERYTHING from health insurance to airplane tickets when according to my doctor I'm healthy.

There are a lot of examples of people not taking care of themselves that those who do get stuck with subsidizing their poor choices.