I see your point: good fitness may not lead to the same body type for each person - that is individual and genetic
So a Norwegian may never have the phenotype of an American Indian. And it shows the fallacy of weight, which can be reduced by bulimia, etc. Point is, much of the healthcare dollars governments and insurance companies expend are directly related to obesity, making it a shared cost.

A good friend is a nurse and she says that hospitals are mainly for obese people and people who smoke. And none of it is pretty.

I know addiction... hang in there.
( BrokenCoccyx doesn't mind if you grope on, Wed 6 Apr 2011, 19:27, 1 reply)

But smokers and eaters are much more likely to die younger -- and so will not become troublesome old people.
I know the Us is different, but here in the UK a smoker pays so much in tax per packet that they're practically paying for a healthy person's healthcare too.
I'd also speculate that obese people don't really cost that much -- strokes and heart disease hit a long time before people eat into the taxes or insurance they paid.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Wed 6 Apr 2011, 20:18, closed)

Nah.
That might sound convincing, but the truth is that obesity costs a massive massive amount in healthcare. The US counts the cost into the hundreds of billions of dollars a year. We're not at their levels yet because (a) we're not quite such fat fucks and (b) we have a much more cost efficient health service on account of being dirty pinko commies ... but fat biffers are still a burden on the state.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Thu 7 Apr 2011, 9:13, closed)

They're only a burden till they die though.
So are unlikely to need nursing care into their 90s and may not draw a pension.
I know you're probably right and fatties represent an overall cost -- but I don't think it's anywhere near as high as people make out.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 7 Apr 2011, 11:19, closed)