I am large. I am not sick.

scales

I have struggled with weight issues my entire life.  In my (now) 55 years, I have lost and regained the equivalent of body mass for several people.

But, I’m not sick.

Michael Tanner from the CATO Institute, noting that the American Medical Association has announced they will declare obesity a disease, writes:

But while obesity is a real problem, the AMA’s move is actually a way for its members to receive more federal dollars, by getting obesity treatments covered under government health plans. A bipartisan group of congressmen has already seized on the AMA declaration as they push for Medicare coverage of diet drugs. Observers also expect an effort to expand Medicare reimbursement for bariatric surgery, a.k.a. stomach stapling. And there will almost certainly be pressure to mandate coverage for these things by private insurance carriers, under both state laws and the Affordable Care Act.

Read the whole article via Obesity Is Not a Disease | National Review Online.

Yes, obesity is an epidemic.  Yes, it costs our health care system billions annually.  Yes, it causes or hinders many other real health issues.

But, it’s not a disease.

I don’t know where the tipping point in our country was that took us from being self-reliant, resilient explorers to being dependent upon the government for our every breath.

Call me an alarmist and send me a tin foil hat but believing government knows best led to the annihilation of 6 million Jews.

The U.S. isn’t there yet, but we can find it on Mapquest.  We are fools if we think that more dependency on the federal government is in our best interest.

Michael Tanner has been leading the charge against Obamacare.  Years ago, I worked with Michael at the American Legislative Exchange Council where he played a significant role in the defeat of what was then called Hillarycare.

Tanner notes that “Big government reduces all of us to the status of children. We have no responsibility for anything in our lives; therefore, government must take care of us. All we have to do, like children, is give up the freedom to make our own choices — good or bad.”

Tomorrow is Independence Day.  It’s time we remembered what that really means.

And, while we’re at it, let’s pay attention to what we’re eating.

1 comments

  1. What’s the measurement they use to declare obesity? If it’s the BMI, then I’m obese too, though I definitely don’t consider myself to be. I think there are other measures that could/should be worked into an assessment of someone’s overall health, like % body fat, or cardio capacity, or activity level. The idea that you have a “disease” because that BMI slips over 30 is silly. Mine is 34 (so I’m 64 pounds above the top of the “normal” weight range), and you know what I look like – overweight, yes, diseased, no.

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