Fat To The Rescue?

Well it seems a majority of efforts to decrease obesity have failed (tax on non-diet beverages... really NY?), so I guess the alternative solution is to accept the fat community and make changes accordingly.

I wouldn't mind having more spacious public facilities! I never use the handicap bathroom stall (unless the others are occupied and time is not on my side), but it would be great if that was the standard size for a stall! And the handicap stalls would be the equivalent of a half-bath?

Cardiologists.

I do not agree with the article. I mean, seriously, if you sit on the toilet and it breaks, you shouldn't be sitting down in the first place. You should be moving. There are many more worse aspects to being fat than there are good. First of all, all these fat people are going to need doctors. This may be good for the doctors paycheck, but it isn't good with regard to the wait that the patients may experience as there is a shortage of doctors.

Being fat doesn't solve problems, it's an indication of a BIG problem.

I think I know where you're coming from, Jaxy. However, I personally don't think the article is saying that being fat is good for you. Rather, I read the article as saying that because so many people are overweight, there is a positive - in this instance, creating jobs in a struggling economy.

While I do agree with your notion that being overweight shouldn't be encouraged, some people may see the economic benefit as a sliver of light in a seemingly-endless tunnel. I do not believe that the author intended to say "being overweight is good because...", but rather wanted to point out that there is a need (larger people needing accommodations) that is being met by companies; thus, keeping people working.

Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the discussion.

I agree. Create more jobs and make some fatties happy while we are at it.

Or will they be angry because we are now trying to accommodate for the "heavy set" group, and people not in that group will say "Hey, we did this for you, Fatty. I'm pissed off!"

Free Big Macs and Whoppers for our heavy-set customers! Because we understand. There's an idea. Maybe they will literally die off, but before they do they will stimulate the health sector, as well as the fast-food economy.

GA, Savvy! Thank you.

In a previous blog, I found that researchers are predicting that 86% of Americans will be overweight by 2030 - and all Americans will be overweight by 2048. While I take these numbers with grain of salt (I mean, all Americans...really?), it shows how alarming the situation is.

When is there going to be a law that requires obesity accessibility? Can't you picture that coming, with the large percentage of Americans are obese (or that will be obese)?

This is a great question. Thoughts anyone?

Again, just like we should make it easy for fat people to eat food that will kill them faster, we should give cocaine to drug users so they die quicker. Win-win IMO

Well if the economy goes under so will most of the fat people. Won't be no fast food or diet soda. Be luck to find bread and water. My parents where children during the great depression their stories are pretty grim.

Keep tobacco legal to sell so the government can tax it, but make it illegal to smoke anywhere, then revenue from tobacco taxes goes down and find something else to tax.

Bring on taxes on food and beverages that are high in fats or calories and have the food police checking everyone's cupboards and refrigerators for "illegal" and untaxed homemade food. Stop people on the street for being overweight and fine them. The real hard-core cases could be sentenced to "Weight Control Camps" with barbed wire, guards and hard labor.

It seems laughable, but there are political control-freak nannies who want to make obesity illegal and they care nothing about individual rights and freedoms in their drive to force everyone to live as they think they should live.

I work with Social Security and I see people come in with degenerative disc disease, arthritus, COPD and many other painful conditions who have used illegal drugs, which have no connection with their condition, yet they are turned down for having used drugs. Often they use them as self medication because they cannot afford the medicines and doctors and treatment and the illegal drugs cost less.

I also see many come through whose condition can be related to the use of illegal drugs and they are and should be turned down.

The older I get the more I wonder what happened to common sense and logic and our respect for individual freedom.