Obesity's Disease Burden Worse Than Smoking

So we have now reached a point where there are so many obese people that hospitals are seeing more obesity related/caused diseases than the ones resulting from smoking... This is sad...

Obesity's Disease Burden Worse Than Smoking CBC article

I can see why the U.S. doesn't want socialized medicine, it will bankrupt the country because of the extreme amount of obese people... Something needs to change...

reply to post by Magnum007


The Swine Flu virus is designed to target obese people, they are being 'cleared up'

reply to post by Magnum007


For sure. Obesity is a killer. I'm only slightly surprised that it's worse than smoking. This shows just how horrible obesity really is.

I'm really not sure how socialized medicine will impact the country. It's my understanding that the country was already unable to possible pay for social security and medicare benefits promised. Since everyone will be required to pay into the system for thousands yearly, and because benefit programs are being reduced compared to insurance companies, it seems to me this may actually help our economy. The obvious drawback is that many will suffer from a lack of covered vital medicines and procedures. Maybe I'm backwards here, though. I'm not really sure.


reply to post by jameshawkings


Can you provide any evidence that the swine flu specifically is targeting obese people? It seems to me that obesity is an unhealthy state, period. That anything else which burdens the body would be further exacerbated by such a state. Does not every flu effect the obese more, or is it specifically swine flu?

[edit on 10-1-2010 by unityemissions]

reply to post by Magnum007

I can see why the U.S. doesn't want socialized medicine, it will bankrupt the country because of the extreme amount of obese people... Something needs to change...

The US... and the world for that matter, are basically pretty messed up right now. And you know what? We didn't get this way overnight so... I wouldn't expect a quick solution.

But that being said, obesity is as much a social issue as a medical one and we've already created a new age leper colony of smokers. Shall we do the same for the overweight, creating a caste system for our untermensh. chubby neighbors too?

We have to move away from thinking of KFC as family dinner hour and then... try being a little less judgmental as well.

IMO, that is

reply to post by unityemissions


unityemissions,

(NaturalNews) The fact that nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are clinically obese is worrisome for a whole new reason: Evidence emerging from a hospital in Michigan (and published by the CDC) appears to indicate that obese patients may be very easily killed by swine flu.

In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's report on death and disease, researchers documented the case of ten swine flu patients at a Michigan hospital who became so ill they were put on ventilators. Three of the patients ultimately died from the infection. The kicker? Nine of the ten were obese, and two of the three who died were severely obese.

As reported by Reuters, CDC virologist Dr. Tim Uyeki said, "What this suggests is that there can be severe complications associated with this virus infection, especially in severely obese patients."

Read More Here

reply to post by jameshawkings


Right. Many reports from the last year have linked swine flu deaths to obesity as a special risk factor. Thing is, this has been known for years. It's not specifically swine flu, as these reports seem to imply. Also, the vast majority of flu this year is from Ah1n1.

Most lean mice developed mild disease, and only 4 percent died. The obese mice, in contrast, got extremely sick, and 40 percent of them died, said Beck at the Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego early this month.

Obesity & Flu Complications

reply to post by unityemissions


unityemissions,

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Like you say it looks like it's flu in general rather than specifically Swine Flu

reply to post by unityemissions


I just want to make sure that we are talking about the same thing. Government backed insurance regulation is not socialized medicine... I'm talking about hospitals owned and run by the government which are deductible free, and where you don't need approval from any company before getting treatments. You don't have to pay for health insurance to a company, it comes off your pay and it never increases (unless taxes do). AND! Most importantly it's for EVERYONE. Rich, poor, working, not working, studying etc... (not including tourists and such)...

ObamaCare is regulated insurance + private hospitals for most (not everyone).

We pay for medication insurance but most of our medicine is subsidized anyway (at least in Quebec) which makes them cheaper. In Quebec it's mandatory to either have medicine insurance or get the public plan. Either way, on that side, you're in.

reply to post by Magnum007


I obviously have little knowledge on the issue. Thanks for clearing some things up! So Obamacare is mostly about regulations on insurance then? I bought into the meme of it being socialized health care, without doing the research. My bad!

What types of regulations are these? Is it regulations on the amount of profits an insurance can make, or about which coverages are allowed, or both, or neither? I really am ignorant here. Actually feel a bit dumb for ever posting on something that I'm rather clueless to!

[edit on 10-1-2010 by unityemissions]

reply to post by unityemissions


As far as the exact and precise ObamaCare regulations are concerned, I don't know. What I do know is that the goal of the new program is to ensure that everyone gets some form of medical insurance for treatment to stop the current "no money, you die or go bankrupt" situation. People will have to pay premiums, and those who can't afford them will be assisted by the government. Also I heard that insurance companies will not be permitted to refuse people based on pre-existing conditions. It's a step in the right direction for universal health care I must say.

The way it works here is that we pay much more tax off of our pays but we get health care, no questions asked. I can't complain, even for the long wait times.

Peace,


Magnum