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Both obesity and type 2 diabetes are for the vast majority of sufferers voluntary conditions. These people choose to suffer these conditions, and further, every

Both obesity and type 2 diabetes are for the vast majority of sufferers voluntary conditions. These people choose to suffer these conditions, and further, every day make the choice again to continue to suffer these conditions. Even very late in the process type 2 diabetes can be turned back by aggressive use of low-calorie dieting [1]. Obesity can be reversed just by the exercise of willpower in the very same way. It is a fascinating statement on the human condition that research for medical methods of treatment that do not require a patient to try to alter their lifestyle or calorie intake receives so very much funding in comparison to, say, meaningful research into aging, or any one of hundreds of medical conditions in which the patient has absolutely no choice in the matter. [1]: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13887909 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13887909

ldd 12y ago
What you are really saying is that we should held people accountable for their own choices and, as a society, attempt to help those who cannot make those choices. I agree, to an extend, but the reality is that there are a series of factors, besides the moral or 'self-evident' reasons, that make companies/governments fund these projects. Moreover, forget about these factors for a second. The bottom line is that very few people would care if you found the cure for a very rare and destructive disease. Lots of people would pay a lot of money to avoid being fat. And by the way, why exactly do you think that those lifestyle choices are easy to change? Very few people want to have diabetes (I assume). So there must be something else besides pure will that we should take into account when thinking about this issue.
mc808 12y ago
It's actually an array of choices that have to be made consistently every day for many years, and which vary in difficulty from person to person. The choices could include changing homes, jobs, friends, all depending on their influence over the person's other choices. Nobody literally chooses to be obese and diabetic.
- seekingtruth 12y ago
  For anyone with the ability to govern what they eat, obesity is always a choice. Trying my damnedest on the day of an exam and really wanting to pass is not the measure of whether I chose to pass the exam but, rather, how I prepared myself in the time preceding.
xacto75 12y ago
Stop. Please. Obesity and diabetes are not the eighth and ninth deadly sins. Nobody wakes up in the morning as you so assert and chooses to gain weight, become insulin resistant, or have their pancreas fail. Further, your uninformed opinion excludes people like myself who are thin but diabetic (type 2). It also excludes people who have LADA 1.5. I guess because anyone who has diabetes is morally bankrupt they shouldn't expect any help. Is that right?
- seekingtruth 12y ago
  Yes, people who find themselves in poor health through their own repeated deleterious actions should have their treatment prioritized below that of those whose conditions result from chance or circumstances outside their control. Further, your uninformed opinion excludes people like myself who are thin but diabetic (type 2). It also excludes people who have LADA 1.5. The parent comment specifically stated that only the majority, not the entirety, of people with such conditions have them because of voluntary actions. Stop lying.
- bequanna 12y ago
  If I recall correctly 80-90% of people with T2 diabetes are obese. I'm not saying this was the case with your illness, but lifestyle choices are overwhelmingly the cause of both of these problems. There are giant social costs stemming from obesity and T2 diabetes. The above facts cause frustration for those of us not facing these issues. For example, if my health insurance rate was based on my specific level of risk, I would likely pay 10% of my current premium. Yet, someone 150lbs heavier than me, same age, sex, etc. is much more likely to have health problems yet pays the same premium. In other words, there is the perception that those who chose to create these problems aren't bearing the cost themselves, all of us are being forced to foot the bill.
  - chrisbennet 12y ago
    Assuming you are voluntarily healthy, you'll be happy to learn that smokers and obese people are footing the bill for you. [1] Because healthy people live longer, they consume more health care dollars. Time to find something else to hate on.. (1)http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05iht-obese.1.9748884.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05iht-obese.1.97488...

ldd 12y ago

What you are really saying is that we should held people accountable for their own choices and, as a society, attempt to help those who cannot make those choices. I agree, to an extend, but the reality is that there are a series of factors, besides the moral or 'self-evident' reasons, that make companies/governments fund these projects. Moreover, forget about these factors for a second. The bottom line is that very few people would care if you found the cure for a very rare and destructive disease. Lots of people would pay a lot of money to avoid being fat. And by the way, why exactly do you think that those lifestyle choices are easy to change? Very few people want to have diabetes (I assume). So there must be something else besides pure will that we should take into account when thinking about this issue.

mc808 12y ago

It's actually an array of choices that have to be made consistently every day for many years, and which vary in difficulty from person to person. The choices could include changing homes, jobs, friends, all depending on their influence over the person's other choices. Nobody literally chooses to be obese and diabetic.

seekingtruth 12y ago
For anyone with the ability to govern what they eat, obesity is always a choice. Trying my damnedest on the day of an exam and really wanting to pass is not the measure of whether I chose to pass the exam but, rather, how I prepared myself in the time preceding.

xacto75 12y ago

Stop. Please. Obesity and diabetes are not the eighth and ninth deadly sins. Nobody wakes up in the morning as you so assert and chooses to gain weight, become insulin resistant, or have their pancreas fail. Further, your uninformed opinion excludes people like myself who are thin but diabetic (type 2). It also excludes people who have LADA 1.5. I guess because anyone who has diabetes is morally bankrupt they shouldn't expect any help. Is that right?

seekingtruth 12y ago
Yes, people who find themselves in poor health through their own repeated deleterious actions should have their treatment prioritized below that of those whose conditions result from chance or circumstances outside their control. Further, your uninformed opinion excludes people like myself who are thin but diabetic (type 2). It also excludes people who have LADA 1.5. The parent comment specifically stated that only the majority, not the entirety, of people with such conditions have them because of voluntary actions. Stop lying.
bequanna 12y ago
If I recall correctly 80-90% of people with T2 diabetes are obese. I'm not saying this was the case with your illness, but lifestyle choices are overwhelmingly the cause of both of these problems. There are giant social costs stemming from obesity and T2 diabetes. The above facts cause frustration for those of us not facing these issues. For example, if my health insurance rate was based on my specific level of risk, I would likely pay 10% of my current premium. Yet, someone 150lbs heavier than me, same age, sex, etc. is much more likely to have health problems yet pays the same premium. In other words, there is the perception that those who chose to create these problems aren't bearing the cost themselves, all of us are being forced to foot the bill.
- chrisbennet 12y ago
  Assuming you are voluntarily healthy, you'll be happy to learn that smokers and obese people are footing the bill for you. [1] Because healthy people live longer, they consume more health care dollars. Time to find something else to hate on.. (1)http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05iht-obese.1.9748884.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05iht-obese.1.97488...