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Do you think obese/overweight people should pay more for health insurance?
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Momster1277 wrote: »This whole conversation is crazy...Not all obese people eat themselves to their obesity... food prices are outrageous so if you are poor and on a budget it's cheaper to buy garbage then it is to buy fresh fruits and veggies or a good cuts of meat. I really believe that health care should be lots cheaper but with Big Pharma, Greedy Doctors AND OF COURSE LETS NOT FORGET THE INSURANCE COMPANIES, nothing will change! In the beginning our government spent millions of dollars pushing cigarettes to anyone who would listen - they turned an entire generation into "cool" smokers. It's very easy to criticize...not so easy to find a workable answer that helps everyone.
Yes, they do. Obesity has nothing to do with the QUALITY of the food - it is ALL about the QUANTITY of the food.7 -
Sadly no they don't...there are several reasons why a person can be overweight that have very little to do with caloric intake. Perhaps you should do some research before you speak. also you cannot possible believe that eating a Fast food meal is the same caloric value as eating a well balanced diet. Again some research would benefit
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Momster1277 wrote: »Sadly no they don't...there are several reasons why a person can be overweight that have very little to do with caloric intake. Perhaps you should do some research before you speak. also you cannot possible believe that eating a Fast food meal is the same caloric value as eating a well balanced diet. Again some research would benefit
I'm not the one who needs to do the research... Weight is based on calories only.
You are trying to equate nutrition and calories and they are very separate and distinct discussions that have nothing to do with each other. Just for example, there are no chicken calories or broccoli calories that are different than Twinkie calories. A calorie is a calorie no matter what food you are eating.
When you gain weight it is because you are eating more calories than the body needs to maintain a given weight. Doesn't matter whether the calories come from Twinkies, chicken, broccoli, salads or fast-food burgers.
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Momster1277 wrote: »This whole conversation is crazy...Not all obese people eat themselves to their obesity... food prices are outrageous so if you are poor and on a budget it's cheaper to buy garbage then it is to buy fresh fruits and veggies or a good cuts of meat. I really believe that health care should be lots cheaper but with Big Pharma, Greedy Doctors AND OF COURSE LETS NOT FORGET THE INSURANCE COMPANIES, nothing will change! In the beginning our government spent millions of dollars pushing cigarettes to anyone who would listen - they turned an entire generation into "cool" smokers. It's very easy to criticize...not so easy to find a workable answer that helps everyone.
It's often true that "garbage" (if by that you mean fast food or food high in calories) is cheaper than healthy food. Since he moved out of home, my son has gained a lot of weight because he's on a low income and finds it's cheaper to buy takeaway or ready prepared meals which can be high on calories. But, it's the calories which have made him gain the weight, not the fact that it's not healthy, balanced, etc.0 -
Momster1277 wrote: »It's very easy to criticize...not so easy to find a workable answer that helps everyone.
Here is an answer that works for everyone, eat less, move more. Everyone can eat less. Move more may be harder for people with physical conditions. But I don't know of anyone who has a gun held to their head, forcing them to eat more than maintenance calories each day.
Even if they are getting only crap food, they can eat only enough to satisfy their caloric needs or even less if they need to lose weight.
There have been all sorts of stunts where people choose some junk or fast food and lose weight.
How do they do it? By consuming fewer calories than they burn.
I do agree, it is harder for SOME to increase their calorie burn. But everyone has the power to say no, to measure portions and to simply eat less than what they ate that caused them to gain weight.
Everyone!
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ioanatimariu wrote: »Or, you can all vote sensibly and get Affordable Care act like we have in Canada where I don't have to worry about whether to pay for my mortgage/rent or lose an arm. And also the cost that the Canadian gov't pay to the health industry is a HELL of a lot less than what the public pays in USA for the health industry out of their own pocket, because it's not in the hands of corporate greed.
I like having the ability to go to the doctor any time I need without having to a) pay b) deal with insurance.
Just 2c.
it's not free. you pay for it. you just have a different pay-in system1 -
My 2c on the original question. I think anything that has been shown to increase your chances of illness technically justifies increasing your insurance costs given insurance is basically just actuary tables with fees that balance out the payouts plus give some profit. That said I think that society is rightfully intolerant of having insurance costs go sky-high for someone based on things outside of their control like genetic disorders. I think obesity does increase your chance of health issues and I do not think that obesity is outside of ones control. As such I do think that it makes sense to increase insurance costs to people who are obese.
The way I could see this perhaps being a bad thing to do though is if poverty and obesity are actually linked. Meaning if you are in extreme poverty and the food you can afford to support yourself nutritionally is exceptionally high calorie and therefore to survive you become fat and insurance charges you more for that that would be bad. Not convinced that is true, just saying if it was that would give me some pause.0 -
As an overweight person l’m going with the unpopular opinion. Yes, I think that overweight people (unless there’s extenuating circumstances out of their control regarding them being overweight) should have to pay more - we’re a drain on the healthcare system. I, personally, have no one, but myself to blame for being overweight since I don’t exercise enough and am prone to emotional eating especially during that time of the month.2
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Interbeing wrote: »My company provides cash incentives for reaching fitness goals. $160 for a wellness check, then $60 for various goals, up to a maximum of $400. Goals include reaching a workout goal, drinking water, maintaining a minimum number of step average, maintaining BMI within normal range, We were even provided a Fitbit Aria Smart Weigh Scale to automatically upload our weight on a weekly basis and Fitbits to record our steps. Smokers are charged an extra $200 surcharge, so while there is no extra charge for being overweight per se, there is an incentive for getting, and maintaining a minimum fitness level.Interbeing wrote: »My company provides cash incentives for reaching fitness goals. $160 for a wellness check, then $60 for various goals, up to a maximum of $400. Goals include reaching a workout goal, drinking water, maintaining a minimum number of step average, maintaining BMI within normal range, We were even provided a Fitbit Aria Smart Weigh Scale to automatically upload our weight on a weekly basis and Fitbits to record our steps. Smokers are charged an extra $200 surcharge, so while there is no extra charge for being overweight per se, there is an incentive for getting, and maintaining a minimum fitness level.Interbeing wrote: »My company provides cash incentives for reaching fitness goals. $160 for a wellness check, then $60 for various goals, up to a maximum of $400. Goals include reaching a workout goal, drinking water, maintaining a minimum number of step average, maintaining BMI within normal range, We were even provided a Fitbit Aria Smart Weigh Scale to automatically upload our weight on a weekly basis and Fitbits to record our steps. Smokers are charged an extra $200 surcharge, so while there is no extra charge for being overweight per se, there is an incentive for getting, and maintaining a minimum fitness level.
That’s cool. That would definitely encourage me to work harder to get in shape and stay that way.
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My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them6 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.6 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it6 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
Why tax food when the problem is behavior and/or choices. A tax charges everyone, even those who eat modest, responsible amounts of the foods you would target with such a tax.
Charging those who make poor choices more only charges those who are making those choices.
Tax behavior not food.
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Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
Broccoli, cheese, carrots, bread, milk, Chicken, beef, pork, etc. Yes, Just make food more expensive.1 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
No there are not - any person on this planet can eat any or all of the foods that you mention and as long as they maintain a calorie deficit they will lose weight. The ONLY thing that causes obesity is excess consumption of calories - doesn't matter if those calories come from 'healthy' foods or from 'junk' food. There are numerous examples on these boards of people who got fat from eating 'healthy' foods.2 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
No there are not - any person on this planet can eat any or all of the foods that you mention and as long as they maintain a calorie deficit they will lose weight. The ONLY thing that causes obesity is excess consumption of calories - doesn't matter if those calories come from 'healthy' foods or from 'junk' food. There are numerous examples on these boards of people who got fat from eating 'healthy' foods.
Ah ok that makes sense, I guess the problem then is purely down to the person who chooses to eat a large/regular amount of unhealthy food.0 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
I eat all of those foods regularly and I'm at the lower end of the BMI scale. I have been both overweight and underweight while including foods like that in my diet. It's the quantity that matters, not the foods themselves.2 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
My weight is normal. Why should I pay more for my chocolate just because some other people weigh more?
I didn't get overweight because of chocolate and soda. I was overweight because I ate too much of the foods I cooked at home, everyday foods like rice, potatoes, pasta, and vegetables. Someone who wants to eat more than their body can use is going to do it on a wide variety of foods.2 -
Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
No there are not - any person on this planet can eat any or all of the foods that you mention and as long as they maintain a calorie deficit they will lose weight. The ONLY thing that causes obesity is excess consumption of calories - doesn't matter if those calories come from 'healthy' foods or from 'junk' food. There are numerous examples on these boards of people who got fat from eating 'healthy' foods.
Ah ok that makes sense, I guess the problem then is purely down to the person who chooses to eat a large/regular amount of unhealthy food.
It's not the food that is unhealthy, it's the dose. A serving of chocolate is fine for health. Eating sweet potatoes or broccoli in excess is bad for my health.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »Mandylou19912014 wrote: »My mom and I were discussing this today and I thought it would be a great topic for this forum, especially with all the politics surrounding health care these days.
So do you think people who are overweight and/or obese should have to pay more?
Do you think this would be a deterrent to gaining weight for people that are not in this category?
Should people with medications/medical conditions that cause weight gain be exempt?
I know that with obamacare/ACA there are wellness programs available, do you think these are all that helpful if you've been to one?
I think that instead of charging the person more, they should increase the costs of the foods which lead to obesity .. for example .. a bar of chocolate should cost a lot more and crisps and fizzy drinks etc, this would then hopefully make people cut down purely because it’s getting too expensive. They should make health foods cheaper to also encourage people to buy them
The big problem with this is that there are no specific foods that lead to obesity - it is overall excess consumption that leads to obesity... and there is a 100 page thread someplace on here about trying to tax junk food out of existence - you should do a search for it.
There are lots of specific foods that can lead to obesity, like full fat fizzy drinks, any chocolate bar, cake, full fat ice creams, most takeaways etc the list could go on. If you increase the prices of these items it will make people eat them in moderation because they just won’t be able to afford it
No there are not - any person on this planet can eat any or all of the foods that you mention and as long as they maintain a calorie deficit they will lose weight. The ONLY thing that causes obesity is excess consumption of calories - doesn't matter if those calories come from 'healthy' foods or from 'junk' food. There are numerous examples on these boards of people who got fat from eating 'healthy' foods.
Ah ok that makes sense, I guess the problem then is purely down to the person who chooses to eat a large/regular amount of unhealthy food.
It's not the food that is unhealthy, it's the dose. A serving of chocolate is fine for health. Eating sweet potatoes or broccoli in excess is bad for my health.
Food can be unhealthy though, in moderation it’s ok for some people but for example a donut is unhealthy, there is no nutritional value in it what so ever .. but yes I agree that it’s all about how much of certain foods you eat that make it become more unhealthy2
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