Tax the Fat?

[UKMuFFiN]

Damnit, i was just about to post a pic of cartman after he went on the weightgain 4000 stuff, but then realised that might be counted as a joke and jokes are not allowed

Ah well i'll be more mature, I completely agree with Alex, i think society in general has a bad attitude whereas someone will start off by blamming a certain group of people for costing us money in taxes and instead of finding a rational and compromising solution, we instantly call for blood!

Using the obesity issue, a lot of people's instant reactions are "Tax them back!" Whereas if we all just took a step back, analysed the situation and worked together (everyone) to solve it, im sure everyone would be happy.

Basically, we all need to think of each other as friends rather than just people - If your best friend/wife/husband/family member was one of the obese people would you be calling out for them to be taxed to high heaven for a problem they have that they need your help and support with?

Thats me.

[noah]

There's already enough of a stigma around being fat, trust me fat people know when they're fat they don't need to see it in a t.v ad. Before the government starts worrying about anti-obesity ad campaign's it wants to start looking towards a way of cutting down on teenage pregnancy's, because thats part of the education system that needs a rethink.

while i agree with you that many of these suggestions are a little extreme to say the least, and your points about anorexia hold true for the most part. i have to say that yes obese people know they have a weight problem, much as smokers realise they smoke and drink drivers realise they drink, but the extent to which being obese can harm your health isnt really understood in my personal experience with huuuuuge diabetics and the like.

re: counselling and anorexics the same applies to obesity. i dont know the figures so wouldnt like to compare the drain on the health service proportinately for either. treatment of obesity requires potentially, counsellors, dieticians, surgeons, medics, drugs, extra nursees, heavy lifting apparatus that must be hired for an extortionate amount (£1000/wk!) and i'm sure i could think of more to add if i tried hard enough.

dont get me wrong, i'm not campaigning against fat people far from it. some people can help it and others cant. much like i dont force my girlfriend to stop smoking because she knows the risks and harm she is doing to others, she is an adult and can make her own choice. if someone chooses to be overweight that's fine. its just good to understand the implications to themselves and others

as for teenage pregnancies, i agree but thats another debate i think

[don_vercetti]

I reckon taxing fatty foods would be a bad idea. After all, i like to eat at Burger King and Maccy D's occasionally, yet i am not overweight by any standards.

Also, i don't think education would help either. It's fairly obvious to most people that being fat is bad, and that the way to get rid of fat is through exercise and sensible eating. A quick google search can find you what is healthy to eat and what isn't. But the problem is, i think, most people who are overweight reach a state of mind where they couldn't give a toss if they are fat or not, they just eat for comfort.

FWIW, i do think that if a obese person needs two seats on a plane, they should pay for it. Flying on a plane is rarely a necessity for people, and i see no reason why they should get special treatments in that regards. Either that, or there should be certain seats arranged for the 'wider' gentleperson, but then there would be a certain stigma attached to that.

Having airline tickets based on what you weigh is quite a good idea though, i reckon, in principle at least. But the problem is, how is it measured? Cos like was said about a fat tax, i would just not eat for a few days before hand, and so my ticket would be cheaper. But some people aren't able to manage that.

[webbyman]

hmmm "It's my within my human rights to be fat"

my reply is, it's within your rights to smoke too, but i swear you get taxed on ciggarettes for smoking?

[Gr44]

Just dont provide NHS or any other type of support/free stuff to anyone grossly obease.

I don't mean 'fat' because lets face it most people are overweight. But anyone who is just stupidly huge.... eg 20+ Stone say.

Unless exempt for whatever reason, medical/rugby player etc..

[GDVS]

Just dont provide NHS or any other type of support/free stuff to anyone grossly obease.

I guess you'd better start figuring the reductions in national insurance for all affected people then. Of course that would cost an order of magnitude more than you'd save so maybe we'll just put your idea on the back burner eh?

I don't mean 'fat' because lets face it most people are overweight. But anyone who is just stupidly huge.... eg 20+ Stone say.

Just how narrow are your horizons? My target weight is around 17 stone, for my height and build that puts me in the healthy zone and another 3 stone on a 6'6" frame is loose change (yes I probably am the biggest person you've ever seen, think Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid but I'm 5 inches taller than he is).

Unless exempt for whatever reason, medical/rugby player etc..

How generous of you.

As an addendum to my earlier post and replies I got about attitudes in gyms, some of you will have seen the thread I started but I went down to look at a local gym and things have indeed got a lot better. I joined up and next week (i.e. after induction) I start the plan to get fit and lose weight. In fact it's kind of started as the only munchies in the house at the moment are apples

Thanks to those who prompted me to go have a look, it's much appreciated.