Benefit Cut's For The Overweight !

[tonyav]

Obese people who refuse to lose weight could see benefits cut.
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/obese-people-who-refuse-to-lose-weight-could-see-benefits-cut-david-cameron-to-announce/ar-AAdDW2R

[wolf63]

If people can't work only due to the fact that they are fat this might be a good idea.

I am on ESA and have been for a decade or so - the reason that I can't work is nothing to do with my generously curvaceous body.

Why do many people and the media in general demonize fat people?

[douglas9401]

I feel a u-turn/fudge/quiet dropping of this latest brainwave from Toff Towers can't be far away.

At the risk of re-igniting an apparently dead issue, what about the cheats, spivs and thieves from the city who brought catastrophe upon the world and were then given more to spray about the place? Any sanctions on the horizon for those useless lardy junkies?

[tonyav]

Why do many people and the media in general demonize fat people?


wolf, in this instance it's Dave.

[Mamyalynne]

If the sole reason for a benefit being paid out is obesity AND the claimant officially signs that they refuse an organised weight loss programme it makes some sense.

Things are not always that simple however.

[jourdain2]

I don't see any mention of people who are hormonally predisposed to gain weight. (I know there aren't many, but I did know one chap who had a serious health issue which made it almost impossible for him to lose weight.)

Also, after the menopause, losing weight is incredibly difficult.

Logically, I don't see why obese people should be unduly penalised unless they can't work because of it and therefore don't pay their N.I. contributions. Something in me says 'but they'll cost a lot with diseases', but I answer myself with 'so do other people who engage in dangerous sports that only very fit people can do'.

Where do you stop, in other words? Smokers penalised (I'm not a smoker), anyone who drinks one over the official guidelines?

[Sqad]

The majority of fat people are fat because they eat too much and have obese related diseases such as hypertension (High Blood Pressure) diabetes and kidney disease.

Only a very small proportion are fat due to genetic factors or metabolic disease.

Why should not fat people work?

Some health authorities feel that by 2050, the cost to the nation for fat related problems claiming disability will be£50 billion and more than 60% of the population will be clinically obese.

Each claimant will need to be assessed by a doctor before the benefits are reduced.

A good idea,

[ladyalex]

I bet no one has counted how many people are obese, on benefits and refusing to lose weight. (Wonder which benefits, by the way....pensions?, child benefit?, housing benefit?)
If, and it is a big if, this policy could be implemented I suspect it would cost significantly more in paperwork, medical fees etc than it would save in benefits.
Unless, of course, the point is not to save money but to punish and blame a visible minority.

[tonyav]

Unless, of course, the point is not to save money but to punish and blame a visible minority.


I hadn't thought of that, your ladyship.

[Sqad]

"Punish and blame"....God forgive!

I retract my above post and suggest the obese should keep their benefits.

[ladyalex]

We're in a bad economic state, it must be somebody's fault.
It must be all those fat people who live on benefits whilst everyone else is working so hard and being so honest.....like the bankers.

[ladyalex]

Putting your colleagues out of work, sqad?
Think of all those fees for certifying that your patients are obese but able to work......

[Old_Geezer]

One is entitled to benefits by virtue of being a citizen. Benefits are a safety net not a prize.

Whilst it seems reasonable to expect those who are unemployed due to being overweight and this unfit for work to make efforts to lose the excess it is not the job of the benefit system to tackle that.

Benefits should cover needs, so one can not have a cut without failing to cover needs, which is inhumane and not what we come together as a society for.

No one can know why someone is having issues or what they go through as everyone is different. Folk need carrots (no pun intended) rather than sticks. Help to get healthy got get beaten up. Their life is likely shít as a severely overweight person, as it is, without society trying to make it worse.

[Old_Geezer]

NOT get beaten up
as I 2415 tyvg4yteu6 typed !

[Retrochic]

I don't think the obese are a minority these days. Sitting in a cafe people watching I would estimate at least 40% of people walking past were fat -and I mean 'fat' not just a bit cuddly. When you look at old films shot in factories hardly anyone is fat and when I was at school there was usually just one fat person in the class who got called fatty. It is much harder to maintain a healthy weight when you are older, but there is no excuse for 20 -40 year olds waddling down the road,however wasters and people who won't work come in all shapes and sizes . Obese people should not be classed as Disabled for the purpose of Benefit payments, but classed as suitable for work . You don't have to have a toned fit body to sit in a call centre all day,just a bigger chair and a supply of pasties.

[New Judge]

"Benefits should cover needs..."

Quite so, OG. But they also cover many "wants" as well.

"Obese people who refuse to lose weight could see benefits cut. "

Note the word "could". Big word. Similar to "Foreign criminals could be deported after serving their sentence". Same big word.

[tonyav]

It's not only the 'Overweight'

While the PM will not explicitly say so, it is believed that drink and drug addicts could also be denied benefits if they refuse medical treatment.

[Elina]

^ lol x

[Elina]

Outta the way Tony! ;0)

[Elina]

.. & judge ;0)

[tonyav]

Oi, I ain't over weight ya know, Elina ;-)