The Coalition of the Swilling

Let's let the greenbacks do the talking, then. I'm in favor of lifestyle-adjusted premiums or payments for insurance. Have a BMI over 28 and a body fat % over 25% (for a male) - no reimbusement for you for anything but routine checkups and non-obesity related disease! Got diabetes? Buy your own damn insulin. Got hyperlipidemia? Pay for your own damn Zocor. Here's the kicker - got arthritis in the hip or knee? Pay for your own damn Celebrex and hip replacement. Yep, obesity is a leading predictor of pain and disability in arthritis, too.

When you get yourself under control, then maybe we'll consider letting you back in the insurance program - at a higher premium to account for the damage you've already done.

We have this guy at our church who is ALWAYS putting himself on the prayer list. He's about 100+ pounds overweight, and we're constantly being asked to pray his epidural injection (for lower back pain!) works or that his arthroscopy (for bad knees!) goes well.

I always pray that he'll get his head out of his rather enormous behind, and lose some effin' weight.

(Sorry if you think that's kinda harsh. I'm not feeling very charitable towards stupid people today.)

Speaking from the perspective of being a larger guy ... if one is willing to be a certain way, one needs to accept the pitfalls that come with it.

I'm still trying to figure our when it became illegal in this country to offend someone. Where in the FARKING U.S. CONSTITUTION or BILL OF FARKING RIGHTS does is guarantee that thou shant be offended?

*Hoping the soapbox isn't crushing under my own weight*

As to the arguments listed above: I would be willing to accept them as soon as we smokers, drinkers, coffee drinkers, tea drinkers, drug abusers, people who work in sun all day and politicians to the same standard.

Seriously though, it's not necessarily as easy as just "putting down the fork, fatty." I wish it were. I did 9 years in the Army. I fought my weight for about 7 of them. I tried everything. I have nothing physiologically wrong with me that causes my weight gain, other than genetics. I lack motivation ... I am aware of that. But there are psychological issues, I'm sure.

Anywho, my point being, if you're gonna hang in the kitchen you better turn down the friggin' AC. Or something like that.

The above comment should be amended to FROM: as soon as we smokers, drinkers, coffee drinkers, tea drinkers, drug abusers, people who work in sun all day and politicians to the same standard.

TO:
as soon as the smokers, drinkers, coffee drinkers, tea drinkers, drug abusers, people who work in sun all day and politicians are held to the same standard.

unbelieV>ably stupid.

Oops. Should have read:

unbelieVably stupid. The other V word.

[Note to self: preview is the other button]

Ahhhhh! Another V Word!

I'm gonna go waddle off to the state and complain that my doctor gave me sound medical advice - because he hurt my feewings!

Great Jumpin' Judas on a trampoline.

Cullen, I'm with ya on the smokers - easily measured and verified. Drinkers - well, maybe. Moderate drinking may be good for you (jury's still out) - how do you measure consumption? Caffeine effects on health are much less than those of obesity, smoking or drinking, and the half-life in blood is not long - no way to measure. Tea is either health neutral or good for you, but most Westerners don't drink the stuff that's really good for you. Sun exposure can also be measured, but melanoma's not that common or expensive to treat (in terms of the percentage of the insurance premium that goes to treat the covered population who contract melanoma). Drug abusers - no health insurance at all if I ran the world. Same for covering the effects of botched plastic surgery. Anyone who takes a pharmacoactive substance of unknown origin or allows someone to stick a sharp object into their skin for cosmetic reasons has forfeited the right to expect anyone to care for their medical needs in my book.

Notice I didn't suggest that the BMI or the body fat cutoffs be at normal levels, I cut people some slack. The upper limit of normal for BMI is 25, 30 is obese. I don't think 28 is an unreasonable cutoff. Shit happens, everyone's weight flucuates a bit. But people coming in at over 28 for two consecutive check-ups have just given a pretty good indicator that their health and health care is not their first concern, so why should they ask me to pay for it?

The entire New Hampshire medical board needs to resign. Dr. Bennett should replace one of those fools.

I fight a weight problem myself. I know that it is something that I must deal with. My feelings aren't hurt if I'm told I'm fat (and it happens more often than people might think).

So I have sympathy for people who yearn for that second helping of mashed taters and gravy.....but say no (sometimes). But I have no sympathy for people who ignore their responsibilities to themselves, and expect to be coddled, even if they are obese and lazy.

As a happy tadpole in the pudge pond, I won't be throwing any stones, because I'd hit myself. Lazy, discouraged, glandular (I always love that one...), the whole box of Snackwells ~ I know all about it because I've been there. Red wine, chocolate, menopause, 'desk job' and the natural inclination of a slug all add up and on, so I sympathise wholeheartedly. However, I also don't report my sweet little Doctor when she tells me I need to do something. If I had the chance, I'd point out to the offended large person that 'obese' is a medical term, quite clearly delineated on the BMI charts and, as she was in the office of a MEDICAL doctor, she should get a frickin' grip. He didn't tell her that to be cruel. And yes it hurts like the beejeesus and the last thing you need is someone telling you what the mirror and those pants you can't wear anymore are already telling you everyday, BUT he would be shirking his duties as a physician if he candy coated it.

That's my first beef. The general public, yes, needs to be sensitive but not your doctor. He owes you the unvarnished truth and the best advice he can give you to change your life.

Second beef. The general public only needs to be sensitive as long as the extra large person realizes that his condition, whatever the cause, can impact the quality of life of those around him. Large persons ALSO have a responsibility to accept the facts of their condition and be the best citizens they can, however hard and emotionally painful that may be for them to grasp. A case in point:

I was sitting at a gate at Dallas/Ft Worth 2 years ago, waiting for the plane that would turn into my flight to arrive, and happened to get a seat just a few feet from the agent's desk. That flight taxied in a few minutes later (a small Bombadier commuter jet) from a 2 1/2 hour leg. The passengers started to deplane and, being a nosy twit, I watched. One absolutely immense fellow lumbered off ~ I would conservatively give him 400+ pounds ~ and I thought 'good grief'! How uncomfortable was he on that teeny airplane? It turns out I should have been worried about someone else. A young man in jeans came through the jetway and went straight over to the agent preparing for our flight. He asked politely for a manager, the agent asked if she could handle it and he quietly said no and repeated his request for an authority figure. It turns out that he had been the seatmate for those hours. Because of the girth of the fellow, his butt was planted in the seat assigned to him, but his torso had spent all that time mashed into the aisle, the armrest destroying his ribcage; unable to sit upright, dodge the refreshment cart or folks trying to use the heads. He was soft spoken but very, very angry. He wanted to know why someone who needed two seats wasn't required to purchase them and was allowed to completely destroy another traveler's trip.

I also remember Grinch's co-pilot years ago talking about how Andre the Giant always bought two seats when he was on their flight. I thought of both when I read this story. I can imagine that same offended woman losing her mind at the suggestion that she show the same courtesy to her fellow passengers that she demands, by virtue of her condition, of them.