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Was reading the BBC News on website and came across this article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13397306
As everything that starts in America normally filter over here in time will this become the norm and is it Right!
Personally I believe weight problems are a disease and should be treated accordingly, I myself have a weight problem that I'm addressing sucsessfully but this seem a little cruel to me and something I predicted when smokers were placed on the list of society's leapers some years ago(i dont smoke btw), Which group will be identified next as a drain on society.
What ever your vuew does this not stink of the state taking control of peaple lives and how they live it
It's just the next step!
It's already a criminal offence to committ suicide. Responsible citizens have to buy paracetamol in tiny quantities because the system doesn't want us to be able to poison ourselves.
One of the most basic of all freedoms is the right to end our lives when we choose.
If you read it they are fining people who are not following the medical care and guidance they are being given. Perhaps the fairer way is to remove care benefits from people who do not follow the medical advice. It must be frustrating as hell to work out a sensible diet plan and then have someone just not following it then expecting people to help them regardless. Sometimes there are mental health issues sometimes it is just down to personal priorities.
I guess the point is we can have freedom of choice in what we do, but we also need to accept responsibility for our actions and if we go against state funded health advice why should we expect to always receive care. Its a trick one. Smokers pay a lot of tax for tobacco products so are they paying for their care????? Very difficult to decide on this one.
So in their eyes you have the choice of following the diet or running into medical problems. Should everyone else pay for that???
In a way I agree with things like this smokers, drinkers, seriously overweight people cost the rest of us a fortune.
I like a good session like the next man couldn't call myself skinny either (dont smoke) but if I did something to excess while others showed restraint I certainly wouldn't look to them to foot the bill.
I wouldn't fine them I would just refuse all treatment on the NHS if they didn't hit agreed targets.
If weight problems are a disease then not dieting is refusing treatment and the state havent taken control of that "yet"
My problem with this is that for many overweight conditions and diet can be strongly linked to depressions - even if it does not start out that way it can build into it once the problems start mounting up. Giving them a fine might be one method to encourage them to take a more proactive approach to looking after themselves, but I can just see it as another bit of government pressure and financial pressure being mounted upon them as well as other pressures - it might well lead them to backlash even more extremely.
Quote: In a way I agree with things like this smokers, drinkers, seriously overweight people cost the rest of us a fortune.
I like a good session like the next man couldn't call myself skinny either (dont smoke) but if I did something to excess while others showed restraint I certainly wouldn't look to them to foot the bill.
I wouldn't fine them I would just refuse all treatment on the NHS if they didn't hit agreed targets.
If weight problems are a disease then not dieting is refusing treatment and the state havent taken control of that "yet"
Not dieting and refusing treatment are two very different things, as you would know if you had ever tried to lose weight.
Not dieting and gluttony are also two different things.
I would have thought the cost of medical care for the morbidly obese is offset by the vastly reduced state pensions that they will receive, due to them dying earlier.
For some reason I am reminded of the young single mum on that Jamie Oliver show a couple of years back, who claimed that she hadn't managed to cook any "proper" meals that week, as she couldn't afford the bus fare down to the shops. While she was saying this, she was puffing away on a fag. Perhaps people on "welfare" should be given food vouchers (or even specific healthy food) rather than cash that goes on ciggies.
For many people, their smoking and eating habits are ingrained at at early age and are self-perpetuating, and this woman's children would almost certainly go the same way (except hopefully for this young woman, she might break the cycle as she was employed by Mr Oliver). It's very easy to slag such people off and claim that they bring it on themselves (I've said it myself).
Personally, rather than fining people for the way they treat themselves, I would put the effort into making sure parents give their children a proper diet, and try and break the cycle.
What conserns me is the identifcation of another group of society to Re-eduacate, what group is next.
As a ex smoker i love what its done for me stopping and hate the smell of smoke and think the actions taken have done good but I recognise the right of the smoker who pays his way in society and buys legally over the counter cigarettes his right to choose.
Same goes with the eating habits, I put weight on when I stopped smoking, also before they start excluding from health care and Fining the overweight should the Manufacturer be held responsible for the high fat crap food that they sell aimed at kids in some cases, should foods be treated like cigarette packages with health warning in advertising and glossy packaging removed.
Quote: Is it fair to fine fat people for not dieting
Lol maybe they should fine thin people with eating problems as well 
Yup!!!!
In the same way that the drivers of bigger cars get taxed heavier!!
Agree with strawman when he implies that people really do need to take more responsibility for their actions. Why should the rest of us pay (through our taxes) for excessive smokers, binge drinkers etc.
There is enough information out there on healthy eating and dieting to enable people to lead a responsible lifestyle. If they were denied free treatment under the NHS, they'd probably think twice before poisoning their bodies.
I bet the kind of person who abuses his/her body with rubbish food, is awfully careful to put the right grade of petrol into their BMW.
Quote: the rest of us pay (through our taxes) for excessive smokers, binge drinkers etc
They all ready pay through there own taxes, and excessively.
then again, what about Sport related injuries (whether it be "Footie", sky diving or Tiddly Winks in the eye )
Maybe we should all have to have some sort of Health Insurance scheme? (I seem to remember someone called Beveridge proposing something of the sort many years ago? )
We either have an NHS or we don't, I don't believe you can go picking at bits of it
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