Well yes and we see how effective are, don't we. About as effective as laws against being fat would be.
Their are laws and campaigns and groups all over against drunk driving. Obviously it is still a problem, but at least some acknowledgement has been made of the problem. I do not think that drunk driving is near the problem that obesity is, however. Not even close. And obese people are not just killing themselves. A large majority of them are killing their kids as well.
You don't think drunks kill their kids? and how many children start drinking well before the legal age? Heck, I bet you did . Once again, if fat people are killing themselves and their children why should I be up in arms about it? I worry more about the folks that are a danger to me and my family because of their choices.
When I was in the Navy onboard the USS Alamo LSD 33 we had an obese corpsman got stuck in an escape scuttle opening during an General Quarters drill. The problem it was the only way for the people below him to get fresh air as the power was temporarily shut down. Then it became an emergency as our ship had boiler problems and couldn't get the power back up. So in order to get him out and air down to the 6 men below him. The hatch..the entire hatch had to be removed and as he had to take a step up each time a nut had to be released. I can still see that corpsman face in my mind. It was like a child that just got caught with their hand in a cookie jar. After that incident he was sent to the Navy weigh loss program facility...Orlando Florida to loose weight. He did it and lost 60 pounds in 90 days. But once he got back on the ship he gained an additional 80lbs and couldn't fit through any escape scuttles. He was medically discharged for obesity...being over weight is a very serious problem and even if the those that effects don't recognize it.
I'm sure they do. It's not like I'm pro drunk driving. I just do not think it is near the epidemic that obesity is, nor do I think it is as ignored, or as accepted as obesity. I don't know. Maybe I still have hope for humanity. That we will one day live in this utopia of happy, healthy people.
To clarify......you feel we should tax people based on their BMI, as well as their kids BMI? Pay more based on where you rate on the scale? Who makes up the scale? If I'm 225lbs @ 6' tall and have 10% body fat, that puts me into the obesity category. Am I going to pay the same rate as someone who is 225lbs @ 6' tall and 40% body fat? What if the guy with 40% body fat has a thyroid problem that causes him to be at that weight, and chooses to be heavy instead of deal with the side effects of the medication? Maybe if we want to lower the cost of healthcare for everyone we make the entire cost of insurance premiums and co-pays tax deductible, we educate people so that they know what's healthy and what's not, and then let people make their own choices.
You cannot regulate health. If a person want to be fat, then they are going to be fat. If a person wants to exercise then they are going to exercise.
When I watch my obese neighbors bring fast food home every night for dinner to feed their 2 obese kids (7 and 10), I care. When I watch that 10 year old, who is 200+ lbs, try to jump rope in his driveway, but starts crying and slapping himself in the face screaming "stupid! you can't jump! stupid!", while his fatass just sits in the house watching TV, I care.
Nice story but for every story like that I can give you 50 examples of an alcohol impaired person killing other people and 100's of examples of them endangering other people.
Focus people, focus! One problem in need of solving per topic. Debate whether others are as important in a different threadCause in all seriousness that would be a pretty good & interesting topic. What's the biggest non-economic threat to the US. Obesity, alcohol/drugs, social media, cancer, voter apathy, gay marriage, etc. While I utterly detest the gov't trying to regulate peoples' lives, all the education in the world won't stop people from being fat. Neither will "bans" on unhealthy things. The ONLY thing that has a shot is if healthcare plans stop covering you if you are fat. Or raise your rates thru the roof.
It's raising your healthcare cost and we should try and help those kids. Bruce I agree with you to a point let me ask you this, when you see a kid(not yours) doing something dumb and may hurt them. Do you not get involved and say stop? When our we going to say STOP to these parents who are not only putting their kids health in jeopardy, and not giving their kids a childhood they deserve.
Make them hunt for their food. I don't believe the quantity is the issue as much as the lack of energy being spent to burn the food off. For many it's comfort food and not caring about what it's doing to their body.
Do you really care though? Like enough to spend some time with the kid and get to know him and maybe mentor him and do some healthy outdoor activities that the kid can learn to appreciate for the rest of his life? Or do you only care enough to want the government to step in and regulate it?
Yes I care enough to invite the kid over to play basketball. But I also worry about the perception, as I don't really know the parents.
I don't know, Bruce. You do not have to care. But you should also not try to talk others that do care about the well being of other, from caring.
Like sticking their hand in the blender? Yes, but their parents would want me too. Do you want me telling your kids what they should eat?
I am not rying to talk you out of caring. I am trying to talk you out of forcing me (and the rest of the population) to care about something that you deem worth caring about.
Good for you, and I sincerely mean that! I was a kid that was mentored by a couple of people when I was young, and they taught me a lot of things that molded who I am today. I wasn't the fat kid, but I was a train wreck of a trouble maker and if it weren't for people willing to make time to mentor me when I was young I can say I wouldn't be where I am today. That's what really makes a difference in my opinion........it's not our governments job to make a mandate or tax to curb the behaviour. If your worried about the parents and you really care, then approach them and get to know them. Once they know you and trust you it's no big thing if your spending some time doing some healthy activities once they know your not another Sandusky. Once they trust you, you can really have a positive impact on that kids life and maybe theirs too.
