In response to your “Why do you care if someone is 400lbs?” post let me say this – Obesity health care costs are at $191 billion per year - which actually accounts for 22% of the United States medical spending each YEAR. Out of that $191 billion there is $14 billion spent on childhood obesity – which has risen almost 35% since the 1980’s. There are so many cancers and diseases that do not even see 5% of that annual 191 billion each year. Obesity is preventable with diet, exercise, willpower, and – if needed – medical intervention. There is no reason on this EARTH for someone to be obese to the point that they are 400 pounds or more. There is no excuse for it.

Mod response:

Most of those numbers are bunk aggregates where the costs of all possible associations between fatness and diseases were attributed as caused by fatness – and there isn’t any definitive proof of that.

You’re also assuming it’s a societal imperative for citizens to subsidize each other’s healthcare. It’s not. It’s a philosophical choice. And guess what? If you decide that you want a society where people subsidize each other’s healthcare, you don’t get to pick and choose which people’s healthcare you subsidize. And if you don’t want a society where people subsidize each other’s healthcare, then your whole argument is meaningless: don’t be anti-fat, be anti-socialized healthcare.

And please please please if someone here wants to cite statistics please understand where they come from first. Otherwise you just sound ignorant.

-ATL