Not at all, keeping fit is recognised by the NHS as a desirable way of life, keeping fat is not. Speak some sense, please.
What about the biff who likes climbing mountains and falls off, should we leave him there to rot due to his lifestyle choice? Or the daft lad who drives like a loon and wraps his Corsa round a tree? Or the 75 year old fella who liked butter on his toast for 65 years and ended up with a heart issue? Stupid argument, as you can't draw a line and you'd be asking the care profession to make subjective judgements about who is 'worthy' In any case you'll find smokers generally pay many times their treatment costs in the 80% tax they pay on their tabs....... Judgemental bollocks
Some of the knowledge and discussion points on this thread are really impressive. 27 years in the NHS now. I've known nothing but continuous change for 22 of them. The NHS was once a "sacred cow", untouchable. Those days are gone. It has to change, we can't afford to keep going as we are. An ageing population, increases in high cost long term chronic conditions, crises in Mental Health services, prescribing costs rising 8%+ above inflation each year, reductions in numbers of drugs passing out of patent, reduction in numbers of GPs as the baby boomers retire, etc, etc, etc. The problem is that no one knows what the answers are. They only think they do. Privatisation of the NHS started several years ago. It will continue, by small margins. There's no going back.
In my opinion the NHS is being deliberately ran down and denigrated by the Tories (and it's right wing press affiliates- daily mail!) to ruin its reputation and sway people's opinions. This will in the long term make it easier for it to be dismantled and sold off to the private sector which just so happen donate a not insignificant amount of money to the conservatives and whom Of course will want something in return for their generosity. If we are headed for an American style healthcare system which I think we are, then a lot of people are going to suffer and die because it doesn't make financial sense to treat them. Just wait till insurance companies are deciding what treatment you can have or trying to find loopholes to avoid paying out. Just like they do with your car insurance. Just wait till your premium is doubled because last year you broke a finger and are therefore deemed a higher risk! Just wait till your refused coverage at all because of pre existing conditions or congenital birth defects or family history of genetic illness, and have to pay for treatments out your back pocket. Need an MRI on your dodgy knee? That's £2400 thankyou. The NHS ain't perfect but it's far better than the alternative!
Depends how much you eat when you say you love fatty foods. If you're eating a lot of it then you're not fit as a fiddle at all, your liver is probably suffering and your LDL cholesterol levels are probably abundant. Exercising will produce HDLC and it'll tackle the LDLC for what it's worth but it's no solution, you will eventually get to the point where your liver won't produce enough of the HDLC and you'll get unhealthy, regardless of the amount of exercise you're doing, filtering toxins through your liver constantly will make it less efficient and there's no two ways about it. Fat people have no incentive to eat healthy food, I'm sorry I have no sympathy with them, they treat themselves like a dustbin so why should I look at them any differently?
Unhealthy? FFS. We do have a special tax, the sports supplement industry is worth £14Bn pal, that's £1Bn less than the Tobacco industry so stick that in ya pipe and smoke it.
What are you talking about? The tobacco industry raised taxation revenue of £12.3BN in 2013. The entire sports nutrition market was only £300m
Ok bad wording, dietary supplements industry. If you want we can just throw the in the health and fitness industry and fitness apparel consumerism in there as well. My point stands that it's only funded by people who are keeping themselves fit by choice, so no need for a special tax.
Dietary supplements are typically unnecessary if you eat a balanced diet so for most people they should give little health benefit. I meant that if you take extra risks then you should pay a supplementary tax.I had a motorbike accident years ago and they billed my insurance company for the ambulance then the premiums go up so I end up paying for my lifestyle choice. The rugby/soccer players choose a potentially dangerous pastime so shouldn't they take out a policy? It comes down to the society looking after its individuals. The fat bloke / lass is easy to pick on but even though they chose to eat they didn't choose to be fat. Some won't exercise but can't exercise . Some kids are rejected by their peers, bullied or smothered by their mothers and end up putting on weight which leads to more abuse/rejection and more comfort eating. Should we despise them or try to understand and help
The choice isn't; get fat or exercise until your joints are ruined. Everything in moderation. Drink a bit, eat some red meat, exercise occasionally and eat a balanced diet. Live your life but don't go out of your way to be a burden on the system.
Yes, they did choose to be fat. Over eating isn't ever forced on people (I hope), so I don't get what you think happens in between where they put their food in their mouths. They're not being tricked, nobody is pretending Mars Bars are good for you, or that McDonalds is good for you. Mental health is a separate issue, but the choice is still their own to eat. Comfort eating is not a disease, nor is over eating an addiction. I have myself suffered from mental health issues and have subclinical hypothyroidism which should make me get fat but I bust a gut every day in the gym to make sure I don't, because I'm not lazy. I walk past McDonalds every day after a massive workout and I admit the smell is amazing but I resist, every time. I feel sorry for fat kids, for having pathetic parents, but I don't sympathise with them for not doing something about it as an adult. It's hardly ever too late and plenty of them do it.
20 tabs, half a dozen pints and a bit of scran.. a day..that's the way forward in fact it's getting dark now, decision, decision.
By the same logic then, the taxation on tobacco covers 10% of the total cost of the UK NHS service, do smoking related illnesses equate to 10% of the total NHS spend? I'll answer that one for you - it doesn't. The estimated total cost to the NHS is somewhere between £2.5BN and £6BN, compared to the revenue recieved of £12.3BN in 2013. So therefore the Treasury is in pocket when it comes to smoking, and that's before you factor in the pension and social care savings of the lower life expectancy of a smoker. So those preaching that people who suffer illness from 'life choice' should be exempt from NHS care, need to pipe down when it comes to smoking.
I often wonder where the Health Service would be if the whole country stopped smoking. Up the swanny I'd imagine.
