But first, a question for you because I want to be sure I understand. Do you believe that people who have struggled for years and are still struggling should be entitled to be considered by a licensed health care professional for use of fat loss medication? And let's just assume that along with the prescription, they also receive proper education around diet and exercise.
Before I answer, let me ask you to clarify.. 
Define struggling.
Well played sir, well played. 
And of course, you cut to the heart of it. Struggling is a value judgment and I cannot determine for someone else if they are struggling. But since we are talking about the medical field, I guess we could use parameters that perhaps an insurance company might. So BMI (which I hate) in the obese category for a number of years. Have previously been referred to RD or other nutrition education and completed that. Verbalizes desire to make changes; appears motivated to follow through. Perhaps has another health condition that may make the issue of weight loss more difficult, like a physical disability, or some other form of metabolic disease/disorder. Someone with a history of an eating disorder or learning disability. I'm sure if I had more time ATM I could make a case for people who struggle with depression or other major mental illness. I heard a story the other day about a woman who lost a child 5 years ago and in her grief and depression turned to food for comfort and her weight ballooned up to the point she can't get a handle on it but very much wants to....is in therapy and working on her grief/loss issues. If she could use medication to drop the first 50, perhaps that would be a big motivator to keep going, you know?
The thing about a broken leg is that...it's broken and everyone can see it. There's no debate about the fact that it's broken and the cause of the fracture.
Things like obesity..the ultimate cause can likely be a mystery. On one side of the spectrum, you have personal responsibility, and on the other side, you have either a deep physiological (and I mean chemical imbalance) reason or a deep mental (again, chemical) reason. So voluntary vs involuntary.
Then there's the wide gap in the middle where the two meet, and that is always going to be the debate.
If you're born without a leg, I can't behoove you for adding a prosthesis. It's not my place to say...you can't have it. Fucking deal with it.
Similarly, if you have a genetic disposition to being unable to properly digest food and it causes you to gain weight, then who am I to say that, like a prosthesis, you should not be able to receive something that aids in proper digestion with the hopes that it does lead to weight loss.
So that is my overarching position.Now the rambling..
In the above post, you say "that along with the prescription, they also receive proper education around diet and exercise."
Are we suggesting that the receiving script is dependent upon participating in a diet or exercise regimen? While that sounds pretty hard core, the other side is that I have an extremely hard time accepting that people are ignorant of diet and exercise. I had both PhysEd and Health in high school. I can't blame the schools for us not knowing these things. People don't know that junk food is bad and exercise is good? I will always call bullshit on that.
Eating right, and I mean RIGHT, requires a major commitment in lifestyle. Who has time for that? Who can parse out what foods break down properly? Preparation time and knowledge, cost...all major impediments..er...excuses.
I was recently diagnosed with NASH (Non Alcoholic Steato Hepititis). It's serious shit. I've had to stop drinking beer (One month yesterday!!) which sucks because I love beer. I have to radically overhaul how I eat going forward.
On top of that, I am diabetic. Diagnosed at 30. NOT overweight by any stretch. I mean is 5'10" 185 overweight. Sure, I guess a little, but I've been in the 180-185 range for 40 years. I'm quite slim and have a very little fat on me.
My pancreas simply started slowing down, and now it's basically useless. I'm on both Lantis and Trulicity, and while "I can always eat better", my body simply doesn't work properly.
But I can never go into "poor me" territory and fuck it all, get fat, and then complain about it. It's on me to do the best I can going forward.
I get upset when I hear some overweight guy say that are diabetic. My thought is...do you have real diabetes, or are you just exhibiting diabetic symptoms because you're not taking care of yourself? I worked with a guy that shot insulin before each meal, but fucking ate like a pig. If I'm his insurance, do I shut this guy off?
I know 3 people personally that have had the stomach staple surgery and two of them have gained all of their weight back. One has physiological challenges and the other has mental challenges. Both gave up before their surgeries and have given up after their surgeries. I don't believe either of them have taken any extra steps to address their root causes. I know another guy that has gained back most of his weight. Not sure why.
This middle ground between Voluntary vs Involuntary is the ultimate debate here. Who decides? Should be the patient and their care giver ideally. But Insurance companies will want a seat at the table. Government will want a seat at the table. Social commentators will want a seat at the table.
I don't want to absolve anyone of their personal responsibility. We do this way too easily.
I went graduated high school almost 40 years ago. I learned that slavery was bad and I learned food pyramid and that exercise was good. We have to stop blaming schools. The thing is, we have so much information available to us, it seems the more info we have, the dumber we are getting. The more we learn about things, the more excuses we are giving our selves. Ater all, it's not my fault.
Actually, it's not my fault that I have diabetes. But it is my fault if I contribute to it killing me earlier than it it's supposed to. I feel so bad for young people who die of cancer. They had no fucking choice in the matter.
To bring this back on topic, Obesity is one thing that we have more choice over than we want to acknowledge. Not everyone, of course. That's my personal opinion. Does having this opinion make me judgmental? I don't think it necessarily does.
Topic: Obesity (Read 10671 times)
