Obesity Unawareness

These days it is easy for a relatively thin person to point fingers at overweight individuals. With the increasing number of anti-obesity campaigns and "expert" analysis on the obesity epidemic there is a very clear message resonating in the United States, If you are overweight it is your fault and you are a drain on society. I recently watched Dr. Marc Siegel on Megyn Kelly state that he believes it is unfair to expect a young person to pay an insurance premium to compensate for an overweight diabetic's high medical bills. Most people would agree with Dr. Siegel, but I see this as a slippery slope. First of all, unbeknownst to many, not all diabetics caused their condition. The cause of Type 1 diabetes is completely unknown at this point, but one thing that is known is that it is not a result of poor diet or obesity. Often referred to as Juvenile diabetes, Type 1 can occur in babies under 1 year of age, obviously through no fault of their own. It is also true that although many cases of type 2 diabetes can be traced back to poor diet and unhealthy lifestyles, there are cases where the individual has lead a relatively healthy lifestyle. I also wonder if people who suffer from weight problems are that different than those who don't. We all know someone who is very skinny, but can eat anything they want without gaining weight. So are these skinny individuals who so quickly point their fingers at others, simply blessed with a faster metabolism? Granted, there are type 2 diabetics who have lived very unhealthy lifestyles, but I believe there are many who were just unfortunate enough to have been given a slow metabolism. Not to mention people who suffer from thyroid diseases, or other such illnesses which can cause obesity. Should these people suffer the burden of extreme medical bills if they have come down with a disease, through no fault of their own, simply because they are overweight? And how does one, especially the federal government, determine who is at fault for their weight gain and who isn't? Medical insurance works because the majority of people paying premiums are relatively healthy, therefore providing a pool of money to compensate for those who are unfortunate enough to have been burdened with a disease that costs a lot of money to treat. Diabetes, type 1 and type 2, are very difficult disease to live with. Many people are ignorant of the struggles that diabetics go through on a day to day bases. Type 1 diabetics take insulin injections every single day and are required to adhere to a strict diet every day for the rest of their lives. And that's the easy part. The hard part is getting the right doses to maintain the right blood sugar levels, which is constantly changing, managing low blood sugars, and avoiding highs, and compensating when illness, stress, hormones, or simply nothing causes blood sugar levels to increase. Yet you wouldn't know because many of them struggle in silence. To categorize these people as a drain on society and blame them for their illness is not helping anyone. I'm simply trying to say, try to walk in someone else’s shoes before you judge. You never truly know what someone is going through or why they may have put on a few, or a lot of extra pounds. Would we condemn a woman who turned to food after her husband was killed in Iraq? Or would we condemn a man who is overweight because he has quit smoking? I find it ironic that we are encouraging drug addicts and alcoholics to be granted medical coverage for their addiction, yet we are ready to abandon those who are overweight. Is overeating more of a drain on society than heroin or cocaine addiction? How is it that we can be sympathetic for someone who suffers from alcoholism yet we can't have sympathy for someone who is diabetic or overweight or both?