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Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

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Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#61

Post by rayiner »

vkou wrote: post #49
prottog wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is as much a cultural problem as a financial one. I live in one of these Diabetes Belt counties. I'd like to add another aspect to the "cultural problem", which is that the median person here eats absolutely horrendously and doesn't exercise at all. > we'd rather give you bad food I'd like to believe that people have the agency of choosing what they eat.

Is the median person there dumber than the median person in the rest of the world? Or are they eating shit, because eating shit is the path of least resistance, and median person travels down the path of least resistance, and if you set up your society such that the path of least resistance results in horrible outcomes, you're going to get horrible outcomes?

It’s not necessarily “dumber”—culture is a thing too. Attitudes towards food and what food to cook and how much to eat are deeply cultural.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#62

Post by throw0101b »

prottog wrote: post #8
thinkingkong wrote: post #6

This is as much a cultural problem as a financial one. Somehow we've convinced ourselves that in spite of the fact that we can afford to provide everyone with good food and access to medical care, that we'd rather give you bad food which causes health care issues and then treat those because it contributes to GDP.

> This is as much a cultural problem as a financial one. I live in one of these Diabetes Belt counties. I'd like to add another aspect to the "cultural problem", which is that the median person here eats absolutely horrendously and doesn't exercise at all. > we'd rather give you bad food I'd like to believe that people have the agency of choosing what they eat.

> I'd like to believe that people have the agency of choosing what they eat.

Sometimes not:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#63

Post by nebula8804 »

johngladtj wrote: post #29
EatingWithForks wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most health insurance doesn't cover weight loss treatment without a condition like T2D, heart issues, etc. If you're fat enough that it's damaging your health you're extremely unlikely to be able to lose it without significant support through medicine, nutritionists, etc.

Losing weight doesn't cost money.

But it requires massive willpower to overcome those first few days of cravings, pain and mental anguish and then extended willpower to keep it going for at least 30 days so you can build some tolerance to the new reality of clean eating and exercise...and then even more willpower after losing all the weight not to fall back into a bad habit and refill all those dormant empty fat cells that your body does not destroy for at least 7 years. Combine that with the fact that a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck/working multiple jobs to survive and may not have access to clean nutritious foods without extended effort and you see how we ended up in this situation.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#64

Post by nradov »

standardUser wrote: post #2

"Seventy-nine out of the 100 counties with the highest levels of medical debt are in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA" Who benefits in these 10 states that have still failed to expand Medicaid? What is the upside, to either the populations of these states or the politicians who run these states and make those decisions? Because the downsides are obvious and seem to directly harm a lot of people.

Medicaid expansion under the ACA isn't "free" for state budgets. The Federal government only puts in part of the funding. So by forgoing expansion the state politicians can keep taxes low or continue funding other priorities. Some politicians also have ideological objections to expanding government control over the healthcare system.

(I am not endorsing these policies, just explaining some of the reasoning behind them.)

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#65

Post by jefftk »

rayiner wrote: post #59
areoform wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it helps to call them "degenerate." They're human beings. Some of them, more clever than you. Who are trapped in lives of quiet desperation. We think we are civilized, but we are just as barbarous as the world of Hugo's Les Misérables. We live in a world filled with Inspector Javert's spending their lives chasing their Valjeans.

Changing labels doesn’t change the underlying reality. Spend some time talking to some old stock Yankees. Their attitude towards food is different. A phrase you’ll often hear is “eat to live.” It’s not a wonder that Alabama has an obesity rate that’s over 60% higher than Massachusetts.

I live in MA, and "old stock Yankees" is not most of the population.

Isn't this just that MA is richer than AL, and richer people are less likely to be obese?

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#66

Post by standardUser »

hello_computer wrote: post #18
standardUser wrote: post #2

"Seventy-nine out of the 100 counties with the highest levels of medical debt are in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA" Who benefits in these 10 states that have still failed to expand Medicaid? What is the upside, to either the populations of these states or the politicians who run these states and make those decisions? Because the downsides are obvious and seem to directly harm a lot of people.

[flagged]

That's not a policy. That's indulging in a fantasy world. A policy might be ending subsidies for sugar, or creating subsidies for healthier foods, etc.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#67

Post by yoyohello13 »

hello_computer wrote: post #24
yoyohello13 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Industry can also steer demand via advertising.

[flagged]

So all the advertising that demands your attention on a daily basis has no effect? Even subconscious?

I guess advertisers are just wasting billions of dollars on nothing then.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#68

Post by klyrs »

drivers99 wrote: post #43
HlessClaudesman wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Broccoli, right now after reading this, I'm choosing broccoli.

That's 50 Calories in a serving. What are you having for the other (let's say) 1950 Calories?

You can have more than one serving of broccoli.

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#69

Post by hello_computer »

yoyohello13 wrote: post #67
hello_computer wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

So all the advertising that demands your attention on a daily basis has no effect? Even subconscious? I guess advertisers are just wasting billions of dollars on nothing then.

[flagged]

Re: Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt

#70

Post by hello_computer »

standardUser wrote: post #66
hello_computer wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That's not a policy. That's indulging in a fantasy world. A policy might be ending subsidies for sugar, or creating subsidies for healthier foods, etc.

[flagged]
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