These items relate to a subject often mentioned here: the societal cost of obesity. Every so often, along comes a news story that points out another example of how the system does not work as well as our society actually needs for it to work.
For instance, within the past year, India has been mentioned as a place where bariatric surgery has really caught on in a big way. Leaving all other factors aside for the sake of discussion, it is possible to question the benefit to society as a whole. It can’t be considered good for a society to have a large proportion of its members absorbed by the overwhelmingly intense preparation agenda for this sort of operation.
However much of a blessing it may be in a particular case, and in the long run, bariatric surgery is a very life-consuming project in terms of burning up time, energy, goodwill, money, and other resources.
But wait, there is more
Then, after the actual procedure, there is a similarly unproductive spell, as the patient is, to a greater or lesser degree, disabled for a considerable period of time. Even barring any unexpected side effects, there are new routines to learn and new norms to become accustomed to, on every side.
There will be medical self-care chores, and record-keeping, and check-up visits. Maybe time will be set aside for meditation. The patient actively participating in their recovery is unable to do very much else, at least for a while, if the newly required lifestyle is to “stick.”
To complete their usual work, or family caregiving, or volunteer activities in the community — effective participation in even one of those categories could prove to be too much to expect, and for quite some time. Somewhere along the line, a price is extracted from — and paid by — society as a whole.
A bit of history
By 2018, 60% of Americans — in other words, more than half of us, over 180 million people — were overweight or obese. That statistic was responsible for “$480.7 billion in direct health care costs in the U.S., with an additional $1.24 trillion in indirect costs due to lost economic productivity.”
The total amount of around $1.72 trillion was equivalent to almost one-tenth of the total Gross Domestic Product. As a risk factor, obesity accounted for close to half of the accumulated cost of chronic diseases in the USA. It should be, and is, possible to acknowledge this reality in a tactful, frank, non-judgmental way, not involving cruelty or injustice.
These words are worth repeating:
Whether or not it is their fault, and whether or not others spitefully blame them, and regardless of whether it is fair — in one way or another, obese people constitute an expense to society.
We also discussed whether poverty causes obesity, or obesity causes poverty, and concluded that both propositions are sadly and eternally true.
And another sad-but-true thing
If fat-shaming and fat-blaming have not been able to revolutionize the situation in all these years, those techniques are unlikely to bring about change in the future.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “America’s Obesity Crisis: The Health and Economic Costs of Excess Weight,” MilkenInstitute.org,” 10/26/18
Image by bergy59/Pixabay
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