Fat people are fat because they want to be...it's simple calories in vs. calories burnt. tax them for it! Smokers are already taxed! The tax on ciggarettes in this country is massive! Alcohol is taxed too! I wonder if there are any healthy people out there, that are employed and paying income tax, that would be opposed to taxing the fat people. I don't want to pay for fat people anymore. They don't care about their own bodies, why should the rest of us?
Yes! Obesity costs the NHS far more than smoking-related diseases do. Obesity is linked to joint problems, lots of cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, infertility, hormonal disorders, mobility problems, etc, etc
But hey, never mind. Smokers are paying for all of it!
If you REALLY care about making a change in this issue, you would realize that the only sensible approach is education. Taxing the overweight is an short sighted solution fueled by nothing but prejudice. Plus there's a generation of children on bad diets that are already destined to be taxed and discriminated against no control of their own.
Plus if you beleive fat people (in this day and age) are fat solely because they chose to be, I urge you to find evidence that significant weight loss can be acheived (and maintained) with ease. I think you'll find social science is something that cannot be taken for granted let alone ignored.
Plus, what about people who appear to be perfectly healthy but are genetically prone to deposit fat around their vessels hence are susceptible to premature death. Would you tax them as well? Does that mean your regime will specify the amount of fat 'areas' specific areas? Or will it just be people that appear obese?
The language used in this diabolical TV show was one of intense arrogance not to mention dazzling naivity and ignorance.
Originally posted by Demantoid: Yes! Obesity costs the NHS far more than smoking-related diseases do. Obesity is linked to joint problems, lots of cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, infertility, hormonal disorders, mobility problems, etc, etc
But hey, never mind. Smokers are paying for all of it!
Yes! Obesity costs the NHS far more than smoking-related diseases do. Obesity is linked to joint problems, lots of cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, infertility, hormonal disorders, mobility problems, etc, etc
I think you'll find that there are a lot of people of various shapes, sizes and temperament who suffer from the above problems who are not overweight - nothing like a bit of discrimination, is there?
As a mental health nurse I would also like to raise the issue of weight gain as a common side effect of many psychotropic medications. This is not a lifestyle choice for my patients this is survival.
It would appear that my patients not only have to deal with the stigma and prejudice inherent in society towards mental illness but they now have the added bonus of being discriminated and judged as a result of their size!
1 in 5 people experience mental health problems in their life time.
If you were taxing "fat" people would people on this sort of medication be exempt?
If you answered yes, what about when they became well or switched to a different medication after having put the weight on?
I suppose you might give them a period of time to lose the weight (they gained through no fault of their own) before they begin paying tax on their weight.
What if they fail to achieve that? I suppose you would then start taxing them!
Bearing in mind that it is very difficult for people who experience mental health problems to find work when they are well due to employer prejudice and bearing in mind many current and ex mental health service users experience high levels of debt and financial hardship do you think a fat tax would help them very much?
A fat tax would penalise people suffering mental health problems for a side effect of their treatment.
Now I'm not saying that all "fat" people are suffering mental health problems but their are a lot of conditions out there that affects peoples weight. Consider that before you sneer and look down on the overweight person taking up two seats on a bus!
In addition obesity is linked to poverty in this country. Agree with it or not the good food is more expensive and bad food is marketed at the poor (you only have to take a walk through the supermarket and read whats in the ingrediant list on the brand and value ranges to see what I'm saying).
The middle class can afford the organic vegatables, the middle class will have the gym memberships and the time to fit the exercise in. A single mum working three part time jobs and trying to feed two hungry children is more likely to stick the supermarkets value range in the oven! A fat tax would without a doubt become a tax on the poor!
Sorry to go on and jump from point to point but it is clear to any body with sense that a fat tax is not only grossly unfair but unworkable due to the amount of variables affecting peoples weight.
So please see that weight gain is not so cut and dry and please, please stop being so judgemental because you only make my job as a mental health nurse harder and ruin the lives and inhibit the recovery of many of my patients.
Originally posted by manlystan: As a mental health nurse I would also like to raise the issue of weight gain as a common side effect of many psychotropic medications. This is not a lifestyle choice for my patients this is survival.
It would appear that my patients not only have to deal with the stigma and prejudice inherent in society towards mental illness but they now have the added bonus of being discriminated and judged as a result of their size!
1 in 5 people experience mental health problems in their life time.
If you were taxing "fat" people would people on this sort of medication be exempt?
If you answered yes, what about when they became well or switched to a different medication after having put the weight on?
I suppose you might give them a period of time to lose the weight (they gained through no fault of their own) before they begin paying tax on their weight.
What if they fail to achieve that? I suppose you would then start taxing them!
Bearing in mind that it is very difficult for people who experience mental health problems to find work when they are well due to employer prejudice and bearing in mind many current and ex mental health service users experience high levels of debt and financial hardship do you think a fat tax would help them very much?
A fat tax would penalise people suffering mental health problems for a side effect of their treatment.
Now I'm not saying that all "fat" people are suffering mental health problems but their are a lot of conditions out there that affects peoples weight. Consider that before you sneer and look down on the overweight person taking up two seats on a bus!
In addition obesity is linked to poverty in this country. Agree with it or not the good food is more expensive and bad food is marketed at the poor (you only have to take a walk through the supermarket and read whats in the ingrediant list on the brand and value ranges to see what I'm saying).
The middle class can afford the organic vegatables, the middle class will have the gym memberships and the time to fit the exercise in. A single mum working three part time jobs and trying to feed two hungry children is more likely to stick the supermarkets value range in the oven! A fat tax would without a doubt become a tax on the poor!
Sorry to go on and jump from point to point but it is clear to any body with sense that a fat tax is not only grossly unfair but unworkable due to the amount of variables affecting peoples weight.
So please see that weight gain is not so cut and dry and please, please stop being so judgemental because you only make my job as a mental health nurse harder and ruin the lives and inhibit the recovery of many of my patients.
Having worked in mental health services, myself, Manlystan, at one time, I've put the very points forward that you've raised, but probably not so eloquently. There are a lot of intolerant and ignorant posters out there, so be prepared for a barrage! (from one who knows )
Originally posted by manlystan: As a mental health nurse I would also like to raise the issue of weight gain as a common side effect of many psychotropic medications. This is not a lifestyle choice for my patients this is survival.
It would appear that my patients not only have to deal with the stigma and prejudice inherent in society towards mental illness but they now have the added bonus of being discriminated and judged as a result of their size!
1 in 5 people experience mental health problems in their life time.
If you were taxing "fat" people would people on this sort of medication be exempt?
If you answered yes, what about when they became well or switched to a different medication after having put the weight on?
I suppose you might give them a period of time to lose the weight (they gained through no fault of their own) before they begin paying tax on their weight.
What if they fail to achieve that? I suppose you would then start taxing them!
Bearing in mind that it is very difficult for people who experience mental health problems to find work when they are well due to employer prejudice and bearing in mind many current and ex mental health service users experience high levels of debt and financial hardship do you think a fat tax would help them very much?
A fat tax would penalise people suffering mental health problems for a side effect of their treatment.
Now I'm not saying that all "fat" people are suffering mental health problems but their are a lot of conditions out there that affects peoples weight. Consider that before you sneer and look down on the overweight person taking up two seats on a bus!
In addition obesity is linked to poverty in this country. Agree with it or not the good food is more expensive and bad food is marketed at the poor (you only have to take a walk through the supermarket and read whats in the ingrediant list on the brand and value ranges to see what I'm saying).
The middle class can afford the organic vegatables, the middle class will have the gym memberships and the time to fit the exercise in. A single mum working three part time jobs and trying to feed two hungry children is more likely to stick the supermarkets value range in the oven! A fat tax would without a doubt become a tax on the poor!
Sorry to go on and jump from point to point but it is clear to any body with sense that a fat tax is not only grossly unfair but unworkable due to the amount of variables affecting peoples weight.
So please see that weight gain is not so cut and dry and please, please stop being so judgemental because you only make my job as a mental health nurse harder and ruin the lives and inhibit the recovery of many of my patients.
Having worked in mental health services, myself, Manlystan, at one time, I've put the very points forward that you've raised, but probably not so eloquently. There are a lot of intolerant and ignorant posters out there, so be prepared for a barrage! (from one who knows )
lets be honest here? most fat people must have mental probs cous any normal person with any brain function would take a look in the mirror and stop eating, what a sight
Originally posted by manlystan: As a mental health nurse I would also like to raise the issue of weight gain as a common side effect of many psychotropic medications. This is not a lifestyle choice for my patients this is survival.
It would appear that my patients not only have to deal with the stigma and prejudice inherent in society towards mental illness but they now have the added bonus of being discriminated and judged as a result of their size!
1 in 5 people experience mental health problems in their life time.
If you were taxing "fat" people would people on this sort of medication be exempt?
If you answered yes, what about when they became well or switched to a different medication after having put the weight on?
I suppose you might give them a period of time to lose the weight (they gained through no fault of their own) before they begin paying tax on their weight.
What if they fail to achieve that? I suppose you would then start taxing them!
Bearing in mind that it is very difficult for people who experience mental health problems to find work when they are well due to employer prejudice and bearing in mind many current and ex mental health service users experience high levels of debt and financial hardship do you think a fat tax would help them very much?
A fat tax would penalise people suffering mental health problems for a side effect of their treatment.
Now I'm not saying that all "fat" people are suffering mental health problems but their are a lot of conditions out there that affects peoples weight. Consider that before you sneer and look down on the overweight person taking up two seats on a bus!
In addition obesity is linked to poverty in this country. Agree with it or not the good food is more expensive and bad food is marketed at the poor (you only have to take a walk through the supermarket and read whats in the ingrediant list on the brand and value ranges to see what I'm saying).
The middle class can afford the organic vegatables, the middle class will have the gym memberships and the time to fit the exercise in. A single mum working three part time jobs and trying to feed two hungry children is more likely to stick the supermarkets value range in the oven! A fat tax would without a doubt become a tax on the poor!
Sorry to go on and jump from point to point but it is clear to any body with sense that a fat tax is not only grossly unfair but unworkable due to the amount of variables affecting peoples weight.
So please see that weight gain is not so cut and dry and please, please stop being so judgemental because you only make my job as a mental health nurse harder and ruin the lives and inhibit the recovery of many of my patients.
Having worked in mental health services, myself, Manlystan, at one time, I've put the very points forward that you've raised, but probably not so eloquently. There are a lot of intolerant and ignorant posters out there, so be prepared for a barrage! (from one who knows )
lets be honest here? most fat people must have mental probs cous any normal person with any brain function would take a look in the mirror and stop eating, what a sight
As well as the grammar lessons, a dictionary wouldn't go amiss to correct your duff spelling... Do you know how to spell punctuation because you definitely don't know how to use it!
In my opinion the problem lies clearly between the food manufactrers, advertisers and government.
If we are to belive that people on low incomes make up the 'majority' of fat people in this country then you only have to look at how easy it is to be pursuaded to buy cheap, junk food that may aswel be thrown away as eat (if you have ever worked in a food processing factory you'll know what I'm talking about).
Organic..or fresh local produce..organic is really another 'gimick' is not readily available nor marketed in the same way in the UK as junk food because there's not enough profit to be made. That's where my issue is here over the question of Fat Tax.
Better education on what junk food contains, how much damage it is doing to your body, the huge profits being made in the food industry and the huge amount of money the government is making on the back of junk food being readily available in the UK. You only have to look across to the USA to see the scale of things to come in the UK.
You don't have to join a gym to take regular exercise. A walk costs nothing other than an investment in time and committment. If fat people want to lose weight then they need to be focused on the goal of being fit and healthy. I appreciate if a person has a disability, this may require a rethink..but they still have to be prepared to make a committment
If everyone stopped buying junk food from supermarkets, fast food outlets and insisted on fresh produce then how soon would there be a change? Make junk food a luxury, make fresh, local produce affordable.
Our lifestyles in the UK are too geared to quick fixes.
I think that you have raised some very important points there Harmster and I agree with you that the problem lies with the food manufacturers, advertisers and the government. The poor are being exploited by the supermarkets and organisations that manufacture this rubbish.
Education is certainly one way forward but affordable leisure facilities needs to be included as well. A walk may cost nothing more than time and commitment but in fairness it is easier to motivate yourself to exercise if you actually enjoy the activity.
I would also point out that for my patients for whom weight gain is a side effect of medication it can be very difficult for them to make the commitment to lose weight as a lack of motivation or volition is often a symptom of their mental health problems.
For example schizophrenia is broken down into what is termed positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusional beliefs, hallucinations etc, whilst negative symptoms include social withdrawal, lack of energy, depression etc. It is often the negative symptoms that cause the patients more difficulty in their lifes as it effects day to day functioning and lingers long after their initial episode.
This varies from patient to patient as everybody has their own unique presentation of their illness. But it serves to highlight that even after they may have stopped taking the medication that made them put on weight it may be hard for them to motivate themselves to lose it by the very nature of their illness.
I do wish that people would not immediately make a critical judgement when they see an overweight person as they have no idea of what may have caused that person to be that size. That individual may not be lazy, greedy or weak willed but instead that person may be strong, courageous and more determined than the average person.
lets be honest here? most fat people must have mental probs cous any normal person with any brain function would take a look in the mirror and stop eating, what a sight
I can honestly say that its the most offensive thing I have read in quite a while. Did you actually think about other people's feelings and mental states when you sprewed this drival that sounds like it came straight out of the Daily Mail? What about people who suffer from anorexia? Would you call them mental or have mental problems?
For a lot of people comfort eating is one of the few ways they get through the day and the sweeping statement you made just keeps the stigma going and is probably what turns people to anorexia in the first place.
------------------------------
"you named your knife, how very serial killer of you"
lets be honest here? most fat people must have mental probs cous any normal person with any brain function would take a look in the mirror and stop eating, what a sight
Still reading this thread but this about summs it up,right.... are you interested in the NHS, Tax or personel freedom... no it's how they look.... shame on you and by the way I would point out that the modern myth that being thin is beautiful is false I've seen some ugly ugly thin people... I'd say it's what's inside that counts but.... wouldn't want to insult anyone. If you'll excuse me now I'm off to look up some skeletons in Greys anattomy THATS HOT!
) 
