drrich2
Contributor
And what do you think causes all of that heart disease and strokes?
Obesity >> diabetes & high blood pressure >> heart disease & strokes
The only people who say that obesity does not cause all of these disease are... obese people.
Many heart attacks and strokes, yes...but not all. And these diseases kill many fat folks years earlier, often after or near retirement age, and shave several years of non-working benefit-drawing time off their lives. This should cut way into the claimed cost figures for obesity. I figure it's possible that obesity might still have some net cost vs. savings, but like smoking, probably far less than the figures the anti-obesity/anti-smoking people like to trot out.
Obesity increases insulin resistance and contributes to diabetes. Sure.
And normal weight people who work out & are very fit are healthier and likely live a bit longer than normal weight people who have moderate activity, yet we don't guilt trip the latter because they're seen as less healthy and more costly than some other group.
Richard.