Obesity Discrimination Takes on New Meaning

Three interesting news stories crossed my desk this week, all related to obesity and discrimination. See what you think:

The first story is about a family in Great Britain. The parents of seven children are obese. According to the news article in the London Times, the mother weights 23st (stone) which equals about 325 pounds. Because she is so overweight, and because authorities fear her children will learn bad eating habits and will become obese, too, all seven children have now been removed by the UK's version of Child Protective Services.

There have already been a handful of obesity interventions here in the United States.  Time Magazine reports on a number of cases where parents have lost their children, or have been arrested for allowing their children to gain too much weight.

Do you wonder why authorities would care?  Should it be up to the government and/or law enforcement to run interference on the weight children gain?  You have to wonder -- why don't they arrest parents when underage kids are caught smoking?

The second story is about what is, in effect, an obesity tax.  Perhaps the best example of how this would be implemented is being discussed in New York State where the governor, David Patterson, wants an additional tax on high fat- and sugar-content foods and beverages.  For each purchase you might make of sugary soft drinks, or fat-laden potato chips, you'd pay extra tax which would then go into a fund to pay for those obese people who need additional medical care because they are overweight.

Is this kind of tax fair?  There's extra tax tacked onto cigarettes, specifically to curb sales.  Sales are down, presumably based on the higher tax.  The tax does seem to make people quit smoking.  So do you think a tax will compel people to cut down on their consumption of those fat-producing foods?  Will a tax help to curb obesity?

The third example comes from within the medical profession, and is, honestly, disturbing.  A study being published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows that physicians have less respect for obese patients than for those who are not obese.  The assumption, of course, is that less respect will lead to substandard care.  Just ask an older black person (who suffered high levels of discrimination not so long ago, and in some cases continues to suffer from discrimination) or a gay person today, and you'll better understand what this means.

Three pieces of news about obesity.  I'm going to guess this is just the tip of the iceberg.

What do you think about these stories?

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