fat people cost more money to treat

The latest spin from the press is how fat people cost less because they don't live as long as slim people... news media has been buzzing about "The costs of Obesity" for some time now.

What is costing billions of dollars in the treatment of obesity is WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY! The solution seems surprisingly simple. if insurance stops paying for weight loss surgery, and the complications thereof, then healthcare costs will immediately plummet.

A lot of information is missed by the fat-a-phobic media and others who look upon the fat population as a walking gold mine.

1. it's not a given that fat people are sicker than slim people.

2. it's really unfair to accuse fat people of "absenteeism"

3. it's not a given that being thin ensures health.

4. Dr Rudy Leibel states that although there MAY BE (may be... not definitely?) some advantage to being "normal weight" THERE IS NO EVIDENCE that fat people forcing their weight to lower than their setpoint, enjoy that advantage.... NO EVIDENCE? Right from the horse's mouth.

5. There is NO EVIDENCE that fat people have a shorter lifespan than normal weight people. Like I met this nurse yesterday who takes about a size 4 - perfect weight who lives on junk and fast food. Does anyone REALLY think that her diminutive girth will prevent that fast food from gunking up her arteries? It's interesting how people did not notice that in "Super Size Me" Morgan Spurlock ended up (after a month of 5000 calories a day at MickyD's) STILL slightly underweight but had developed FATTY LIVER, hypertension and high cholesterol. i.e. as many epidemiological studies we have to suggest that fat people have shortened lifespans, there are an equal number of epidemiological studies to suggest that there is no significant difference between the lifespan of the overweight or obese and that of people with weights in the so called "normal range".

What EVERYONE is forgetting: We are ALL living longer, fat and slim and there are large numbers of people getting into old age who didn't make it even when I was a young 'un. THAT'S what's costing us money... OLD AGE diseases which we never had to treat in quantity before recently when we developed ways of holding "Old Man Death" up the apple tree for a few years.

Of course, I suppose for the advocates of fat-a-phobia, weight loss surgery (especially gastric bypass) can be a two fer... soak 'em millions for the surgery and complications and then shorten their lifespan... what a boon for the industry... :(