Obesity's 'Disease' Status May Spur Surgeries, Drug Research

[Tim H. 168]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100829102

This is an interesting article. The way insurance companies look at obesity may be changing.

Do yourself a favor and skip the comments below the article. They sting pretty bad.

[JoiaRox 430]

Comments from the ignorant never sting

[dork 114]

Just read the article...and the comments. I have been a yoyo dieter all of my life. I was a chubby kid and turned in to an obese adult. I have been on every fad diet and weight watchers. I joined a gym last year to try again to take responsibility for my health. Being 100 pounds over weight the skinnies gave me dirty looks and re-wiped the equipment down after i got off and wiped it down. Maybe they thought I had a disease??? I have again tried to take responsibility for myself. My insurance company didn't pay for my surgery...I paid cash for it!!!Why do people think we like being overweight??? They think I like having my bones ache? Being on sugar and cholesterol meds? What the hell are wrong with these people. I would've written a what for in the comments, but I didn't want to waste my time signing in.

[Melixxa 125]

Many of the commenters on news sites are people who hang out and say inflammatory things and try to sound ironic and clever. If you read NBC regularly, you'll start to recognize the names and they have freaky, hard-core opinions on most any topic.

Don't take it to heart. Everyone in North America has a loved one who is obese--most have several!

I know there are haters out there, but the posters below that article aren't a good representation of the general population.

But on the idea of obesity as a disease: I think it's great if insurance companies start to step up. You don't even have to acknowledge obesity as an illness to understand that it makes good financial sense to try and help people who want to be well.

[Tim H. 168]

My insurance company wouldn't pay for my surgery either, so I chose to self pay in Mexico. With this change in classification, though, I bet most insurance companies will start covering it.

[Zen 29]

Thanks for sharing the article it is good news. If the haters of the comments could process this information correctly they would know that this move will save insurances money in the long run. Speaking of subsidizes, from the comment section, why does our Gov subsidize vegetables and Protein so everyone can have access to some healthy food at the price of junk food. Just a thought.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Good article.

You just knew the comments were going to be shitty. But one comment made alot of sense....insurance already pays for all kinds of ailments brought on by lifestyle choice...skin cancer for sun bathers, knee surgeries for runners. Obesity has a similar cause and effect. The difference being, with obesity treatment such as WLS, not only do you save lives, but you save money in the long run by not having to treat diabetes, cardiovascular disease and so on.

[NewAshes 232]

All those comments bounced off my rolls