One Step Closer to an Utilitarian Healthcare System
Perhaps the greatest evidence for implementing your own healthy lifestyle are not that 2 billion people in the world are obese or overweight, or that 200 million Americans are either obese or overweight(CDC), or that the medical cost of obesity is nearing or is over 350 Billion dollars annually(Society of Actuaries). But, the latest study of obesity prevention out of England(The Telegraph) show that pregnant women are now being given an oral hypoglycemic agent to reduce the weight of their large unborn babies to prevent them from becoming overweight. The study's effort is to help reduce cesarian sections. The idea of this study has already sent shock waves throughout Britain as to the effectiveness and safety of this method. Actually,no studies show how safe this drug is in this young population. Metformin is one of the numerous older oral hypoglycemic agents originally used to prevent diabetes.No one knows what its effects will be on unborn children. But, clearly eager health officials are seeking to reduce their costs of diabetes by this method.
ABC Evening News reported also that a federal plan in the USA has already begun to assist in reducing a child's caloric intake by using small cameras in the cafeterias to identify their food items and calculate the caloric intake. The "cam in the caf" approach is a pilot program led by Robert Trevino to help "conditioning". Have we had to resort to this close monitoring for our own sake? Proponents for this would say that it's not any big deal because applications that count calories are not new and most any cell phone has an "app" that can identify any foods being consumed and calculate their estimated caloric content.The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study in 2012 that looks at "surgery" as a means of prevention because post- bariatric surgical obese patients have a low glucose. but, because it may lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyerides should it surgery be the "preventive" method to avoid stroke, heart attack or even cancer?
Why should either one these examples of of "obesity prevention" be of any concern to you ?Because the state of Arizona has already limited its Medicaid recipients benefits based on weight as a risk factor in over utilizing healthcare. The state of Alabama has already passed legislation similarly to this. The state of Pennsylvania, particularly the city of Philadelphia looked into ways of "taxing" weight as a deterrent to its cost to the medical system.
Private industries such as airlines have already begun to demand its "overweight" customers pay extra fees to purchase an extra seat due to weight limitation and the discomfort it may cause other customers.
Is this a picture of things to come? Perhaps if we too can not control our own weight(health in general) we too become subject to more stringet monitoring methods that "big brother" assumes is more practical, more pragmatic or cost effective.Should any method artificial or natural can regulate behavior be used as an instrument if it proves beneficial regulate obesity and the chronic diseases associated with it if it can save us money especially if we can not handle it ourselves It would appear there are tools already set in place that will "assist" our habits for us to live in line with certain standards.These will be the challenges not for just the future because the future is "today"!
The alternative is to try to have families properly informed and intervene on behalf of their family members by preventing over-eating and inactivity. This is done by becoming more involved with childrens' lifestyles,become more aware of the amount of television programming there is in their lives, and the quality of programming including food commercials your children watch. Let kids participate in chosing foods , but educate them on the foods while they assist you in chosing while in the store. Try to find some time to "play" with them. They will not think of it as exercise, but it will still have the same healthy effect.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has already seen a rise in childhood obesity as well as a surprising spike in chilhood heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes(not type 1 but type 2), and liver disease.
The choice is yours. Live well and prosper!
Dr. Wells is a past Clinical Associate at the NIH/NHLBI and US Public Health Service he also holds a Master's degree in public health from Emory University. Learn more on preventing obesity by reading his book "Fit Family" at www.fitfamily360.com
ABC Evening News reported also that a federal plan in the USA has already begun to assist in reducing a child's caloric intake by using small cameras in the cafeterias to identify their food items and calculate the caloric intake. The "cam in the caf" approach is a pilot program led by Robert Trevino to help "conditioning". Have we had to resort to this close monitoring for our own sake? Proponents for this would say that it's not any big deal because applications that count calories are not new and most any cell phone has an "app" that can identify any foods being consumed and calculate their estimated caloric content.The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study in 2012 that looks at "surgery" as a means of prevention because post- bariatric surgical obese patients have a low glucose. but, because it may lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyerides should it surgery be the "preventive" method to avoid stroke, heart attack or even cancer?
Why should either one these examples of of "obesity prevention" be of any concern to you ?Because the state of Arizona has already limited its Medicaid recipients benefits based on weight as a risk factor in over utilizing healthcare. The state of Alabama has already passed legislation similarly to this. The state of Pennsylvania, particularly the city of Philadelphia looked into ways of "taxing" weight as a deterrent to its cost to the medical system.
Private industries such as airlines have already begun to demand its "overweight" customers pay extra fees to purchase an extra seat due to weight limitation and the discomfort it may cause other customers.
Is this a picture of things to come? Perhaps if we too can not control our own weight(health in general) we too become subject to more stringet monitoring methods that "big brother" assumes is more practical, more pragmatic or cost effective.Should any method artificial or natural can regulate behavior be used as an instrument if it proves beneficial regulate obesity and the chronic diseases associated with it if it can save us money especially if we can not handle it ourselves It would appear there are tools already set in place that will "assist" our habits for us to live in line with certain standards.These will be the challenges not for just the future because the future is "today"!
The alternative is to try to have families properly informed and intervene on behalf of their family members by preventing over-eating and inactivity. This is done by becoming more involved with childrens' lifestyles,become more aware of the amount of television programming there is in their lives, and the quality of programming including food commercials your children watch. Let kids participate in chosing foods , but educate them on the foods while they assist you in chosing while in the store. Try to find some time to "play" with them. They will not think of it as exercise, but it will still have the same healthy effect.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has already seen a rise in childhood obesity as well as a surprising spike in chilhood heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes(not type 1 but type 2), and liver disease.
The choice is yours. Live well and prosper!
Dr. Wells is a past Clinical Associate at the NIH/NHLBI and US Public Health Service he also holds a Master's degree in public health from Emory University. Learn more on preventing obesity by reading his book "Fit Family" at www.fitfamily360.com
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