Waistline Police!!
by Dr. Gerard Cassista
There is a scary side to government health care that is not getting much press, but is very real. Imagine a country where the waistline of anyone over age 40 would be checked on a regular basis. If it were deemed to be too big, the person would have to attend mandatory classes and work outs to get back to acceptable size. If the person couldn’t or wouldn’t, they would suffer stiff fines and penalties! Does this sound like a nightmare to you? This is actually going on in Japan! The Japanese government argues that it must regulate its citizens lifestyles because it is paying their health costs. This is truly one of the great underappreciated dangers of universal health care.
Other countries with universal health have already started to restrict individual freedom in the name of controlling health costs. British TV has banned some adds for eggs on the grounds they are promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. New Zealand banned a welsh submarine cable specialist from entering the country on the grounds that his obesity would impose significant costs on New Zealand health and special education services. He later lost weight and was allowed to immigrate, but his wife didn’t make the cut because she didn’t lose enough weight. Any government who attempts to guarantee healthcare must also control costs and the inevitable next step is to control citizens’ behavior. If America adopts Universal Health Care, we could be in for the same fate.
The argument that governments make is that an individual with poor health harms all the other people because it causes a drain on the system. I don’t usually get political, but it is starting to sound like the Constitution of the United States has expired! Waistline police is a socialist way of doing things. Even though I agree that people should stay fit, I have a stronger belief in individual freedom, the same freedom this country was founded on. Just for the record, I would rather have individual freedom and work on educating the public about healthy lifestyle. Don’t let the waistline police come knocking on your door!
Categories: Staying Healthy | Weight Loss
Tags: health care | obesity | regulation