user 26832
Member
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2008
- Messages
- 12
I was listening to NPR recently and they had a piece with a guy who wrote a book about healthcare costs in America.
What is ironic is that all those people who complain about the societal implications of everyone being fat inevitably fall back on the "cost of healthcare" argument. I mean, they have to have this argument because without it then being fat is just a lifestyle choice (or condition, not going to get into the choice argument here), and if its just a lifestyle choice then trying to infringe on it is infringing on a personal freedom to be whatever one wants to be. So we have the whole "Its costing our society way to much to pay for the fat people!!!!" argument.
So anyway, this guy wrote a book and basically called that whole argument BS. The most simple statistic in the world pretty much proves it, and that is that a significant majority of ALL healthcare dollars spent go to treating patients over the age of 85. Well guess what? Who lives to be greater than 85? THIN/HEALTHY PEOPLE!!!
I'm certainly not one to draw a straight line between being fat and being unhealthy, but I find it infinitely amusing that if we were to accept that, then suddently the whole argument against being fat falls to dust!
What is ironic is that all those people who complain about the societal implications of everyone being fat inevitably fall back on the "cost of healthcare" argument. I mean, they have to have this argument because without it then being fat is just a lifestyle choice (or condition, not going to get into the choice argument here), and if its just a lifestyle choice then trying to infringe on it is infringing on a personal freedom to be whatever one wants to be. So we have the whole "Its costing our society way to much to pay for the fat people!!!!" argument.
So anyway, this guy wrote a book and basically called that whole argument BS. The most simple statistic in the world pretty much proves it, and that is that a significant majority of ALL healthcare dollars spent go to treating patients over the age of 85. Well guess what? Who lives to be greater than 85? THIN/HEALTHY PEOPLE!!!
I'm certainly not one to draw a straight line between being fat and being unhealthy, but I find it infinitely amusing that if we were to accept that, then suddently the whole argument against being fat falls to dust!
