Hello Everybody,
I was reading, in the excellent Outside the Beltway website, that Medicare - the American Federal Health-Insurance Program for the elderly and disabled - now regards obesity as an illness which will be covered by the scheme.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said, ‘Obesity is a critical public health problem in our country that causes millions of Americans to suffer unnecessary health problems and to die prematurely.’ Quite right too, and not just Americans but in other countries as well. But is it an illness?
It may be the symptom of an illness, either mental or physical, but I would argue that it is a lifestyle choice. Often it is caused by peer group pressure ‘Everybody is heavy in this neighbourhood.’ I am sure that it is possible to show that obesity is higher in blue collar areas than in white collar areas. This is not necessarily associated with income. You can spend as much money on pizzas in McDonalds or elsewhere as you can in your local organic food store. It is a lifestyle choice - you have chosen to be fat.
As we know obese people can suffer from illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and many others. These are diseases, obesity is not a disease. Apparently the obese can now ask for reimbursement of the cost of treating their condition. Activities such as going to the gym, counselling and, for all I know, a walking holiday in the mountains may come free. Or free in part, if it is considered a legitimate request and, believe me, it will be.
It is amazing what we can achieve by a simple name change. Gluttony no longer exists, but being the unfortunate victim of a nation wide disease pandemic does.
It makes everybody feel so much better about the whole thing.
Fortunately there are a few people about with common sense. Rick Bermain, Executive Director of the Centre for Consumer Freedom said, ‘This is the only disease I’m familiar with that you can solve by regularly taking long walks and keeping your mouth shut.’ I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Sadly the people who most need to do something about their obesity are often those least likely to do so. What is needed is a massive media campaign to put across the message that obesity kills. It worked with smoking, now we need the same approach to promote a lifestyle that really does aid slimming. But please don’t let us confuse matters by calling obese people the victims of a disease.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
18 January 2010
Photo. Freakier (Flickr)
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