Fucking Moron (tm)

[timelets]

Obesity costs the country _at least_ $100+ billion per year. It is a lifestyle problem caused by bad eating habits.

The medical care costs of obesity in the United States are high. In 2008 dollars, these costs were estimated to be $147 billion.
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html

Because Covfefe himself has bad eating habits and as the result is obese, he is not only doing nothing about the nation's obesity epidemic, he actually promotes junk food.


https://twitter.com/margarettalev/status/1102617219828199426

Comments

[gomberg]

Actually, if we, the obese, die younger, it only saves resources over the lifcycle. It is not that healthy living makes people immortal. Or even that it makes them die healthy.

[timelets]

Smoking kills people and, I believe the Dutch, calculated that it would be more cost effective for the society to let smokers keep the habit. Obesity doesn't work quite like that. I did some work in that field and it turned out that modern medicine got great at keeping obese people alive. Nowadays, it's a chronic condition that can be maintained for a long time, unless you don't do any cardiovascular screening.

BTW, there's nothing wrong with dying healthy :)

[gomberg]

Suicide is not that easy to implement, you know.

[timelets]

I know. Моя мама говорит: "Я одной ногой в могиле. Хочу уже двумя."

[gomberg]

So, how are you planning to die healthy?

[timelets]

Getting an assisted suicide is much easier in Northern Europe, than in the US. I have friends there who promised to help.

[(Anonymous)]

Even if it is easy, deciding to press the button while you are still healthy is tough.

[timelets]

Of course. The process requires a certain level of commitment, just like any other serious life issues.

[(Anonymous)]

But it does have the virtue of saving the society a lot of money. Should it be encouraged?

[gomberg]

Sorry, somehow forgot to log in twice.

[timelets]

It's not about money, or at least cannot be reduced to money. We are becoming a geriatric society where people live well beyond their physical and financial means, mostly due to the 20th century achievements in healthcare and finance. For example, we still measure life in calendar years (the more, the better!), which ignores the issue of quality of life, especially after retirement. Overall, our healthcare and social security systems were designed for a world with different demographics. They don't fit the modern reality already, and the gap is only going to grow.

I don't know whether assisted suicide should be encouraged. It's a difficult personal choice, but it's a choice and it should be accommodated by the society. The good news is that Northern Europe is taking pragmatic steps in that direction.

[gomberg]

Oh, brave new world! I would prefer to consider those issues... how should I say this... independently

[timelets]

We can still afford the independent approach, but the next generation could be forced to pull the plug on us. Literally.

[gomberg]

I live in Mexico. I am far older than the median guy here.

You know, labor mobility is still quite feasible.

[timelets]

I'm just too lazy to learn Spanish. Although lately I've been thinking about learning Canadian.

[gomberg]

Canada is as old as the US. Hopefully, their long-term immigration policy will be less poisonous, though.