More at CNSNews.com - Obesity Rating for Every American Must Be Included in Stimulus-Mandated Electronic Health Records, Says HHS Do you think the govt has the right to know our BMI?
I don't get why you would even ask that question. You're not talking to the Government anymore, you're talking to your "doctor", and not one doctors visit I've ever had in my entire life, no matter how serious or routine, have they ever NOT taken my basic vitals, including height, weight, and blood pressure. BMI can be easily calculated from that basic information, this isn't some secret inside your body like DNA. This honestly should be expected, and since a new "provider" is about to take over a large group of "patients" that statistically rank weight-related diseases as their #2 killer (just below tobacco), asking for BMI would be my FIRST question too.
That is kind of how I feel about it too. As long as fat people arnt getting taxed more, or people with fat kids dont get their children taken away...
Your body's health doesn't really have much to do the ratio of your height and weight. My dad is "overweight" according to his BMI but he is a very fit 51 year old and is certainly not fat, slow or unhealthy. It is going to be impossible for someone to ever standardize what is healthy. Everyone's body is different and you can't force people to be healthy.
The point about BMI not being very accurate is a valid one, and one I had overlooked previously. I don't mind them asking for this particular statistic, as long as they don't try and "hang their hat" on this one number to try and cornhole people into certain insurance "groups" or "rates" based on it. In order to be accurate, it should be combined with a slew of other factors, including blood pressure, family history, etc. and perhaps in the case of "unique" profiles (like football players), a body fat pinch test or neck measurement. Overall though, given the average "cross-section" of those who fall into the obese category, there are very few that have a right to complain or would even argue about being identified as such. I think this is what they are designing this around, the average, and not the exceptions. The average obese or overweight person is blatantly so in most cases. And no, you can't force people to be healthy, but you would be surprised at how their attitude would change about their lifestyle when they're told their insurance rates are going to be 40% higher while identified as "obese". I really don't see a way out of the "Fattest Nation" crisis we have today in America other than hitting the average Joe where it hurts the most; the wallet. Fair or unfair, people simply don't respond to anything else.
Is an overweight person who eats too much food that's relatively wholesome less healthy than a non-overweight person who lives on sodas and McDonalds?
Not really a surprise because many of us were saying this type of stuff was going to happen if the healthcare bill passed. Now look it happening just like we warned next they are going to start telling people what they can and can't eat and ordering people to take prescription drugs. Just give them more time everyone became the government's bitch when the healthcare bill passed they just need to get the framework up before people start to notice it. Any form of personal freedom left in this country died the day the healthcare bill passed and the longer the heathcare bill stays in effect the harder it will be to kill because they will use the excuse that it will kill many jobs if the bill is repealed and we can't afford that in this economy. Truth be told I don't think the tea party has enough power to stop the healthcare bill before it reaches the point of no-return. We just might need to take it to the next step if the tea party can't kill the heathcare bill b4 it reaches that point. The real question is will the general public have the balls to stand up and say enough is enough or will they bend and tell the government more please. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants." -Thomas Jefferson
In order to be accurate, you better have a host of other fields in your database. You can't necessarily glean someone's health from certain stats like BP, history, body fat etc. One's lifestyle plays a huge role in one's health. What you take in and how much you exercise are vastly more important to revealing one's health than blood pressure and body fat. No one is average. Everyone's body is unique. Everyone's lifestyle is unqiue. Attempting to standardize what is healthy is a nice thought, but not applicable for individuals. Oh, I'm definitley in favor of having people pay for their health care. And I also don't care what insurance uses to discriminate. I just don't think that the actions you describe will have a positive effect on people's health. There is so much working against the poorer classes of our nation that it is cheaper (in the short term) to eat shitty food and not exercise than to eat healthy and exercise everyday. There are a lot of issues in this country pertaining to our food and you can't really talk about obesity without looking at our diet.
Not to say that the government is at fault for obesity, but it doesn't help that they subsidize the corn industry out the ass, making high fructose corn syrup cheaper than dirt.
hmmm I wonder if they ever reinstate the draft if they will consider an Obese BMI scale as a disqualifying factor. I'm about 5' 11", 220 lbs and considered obese by the BMI scale. I lift basically everyday and can bench over 1.5 times my body weight. I'm not the skinniest guy around but it would piss me off if someone called me obese and tried to put me on some food rationing scheme. I can see school lunches/ maybe on campus college cafeterias acting "progressively" with this knowledge of BMI and limiting the types of food an individual can purchase/eat.
Good point, which is why so many other variables need to come into play to evaluate someones health status other than a simple height/weight/gender = "oh, you're obese" check. Again, given the average though, outside of a true glandular condition, most people who are truly obese are justifiably so. They eat like shit and don't exercise, it's the American way.
There is a difference. You can be a tad bit overweight and be fine but were talking about the 300 pound monsters walking around acting like fat is beautiful and they continue to gain more weight and refuse to change thier diets. Then they go to the doctor 4x more then they use to and have increasing health problems because of thier weight. Fat is not beautiful. It is only becoming the norm because a large portion of this country is becoming more than just overweight. Stretch marks and sacs of fat are nasty, not sexy. In Japan it's actually illegal to be overwieght. They have broken it down and figured out that overweight people are a strain on the economy and their society. The Japanese Government did this.
It is not necessary to be within a certain height:weight ratio range to be healthy. Also, forcing fatties to go to the doctor won't do shit. Many people don't care about their health until it's too late (they develop a serious medical problem). People should be allowed to eat themselves into oblivion so long as they foot the bill for the medical expenses. Also, prohibition will not solve our health problems.
No prohibition. They are fined heavily till they choose to do something about it. Prohibition never works but when money comes into play people tend to start taking it more seriously. It's going to start costing them money personally.