From Arizona, the nation’s new cauldron of politically incorrect thought, comes this idea. Make obese adults in the Medicaid system pay a $50 fee as a penalty and an incentive to get into better shape.

Arizona’s Republican Gov. Jan Brewer proposed the idea last week as a way to address ever-expanding Medicaid costs. And the idea is not as bluntly punitive as it sounds. Patients would be required to work with a primary care doctor on their weight issue, and those who don’t meet certain goals would be assessed the fee. Only childless adults would be subjected to the fee.

Brewer also want to target smokers with the same $50 fee. Some 46 percent of Arizona’s Medicaid patients smoke daily. About a quarter of the population is considered obese in Arizona, according the the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Call me a churl, but it seems perfectly logical to attach extra costs to those who don’t engage in healthy lifestyles.

Yet somehow I doubt a “fat fee” have a snowball’s chance in Massachusetts. I suspect a bloc in the Legislature would rise up against it, saying obese people can’t help it and shouldn’t be fined for being fat — it would be a case of victimizing the victim.

Obesity fee: Why not in Massachusetts? | Boston Business Journal

When Arizona governor Jan Brewer proposed that certain participants in the state’s Medicaid program — specifically obese people and smokers who don’t take steps to change their unhealthy behaviors — should pay a fine of $50 a year, it didn’t take long for the reactions to come rolling in.

Those in favor state that people who eat to the point of obesity or who smoke should have to contribute to covering the costs of that behavior. In addition, they note that any money collected through these fees will help the state’s financially strapped Medicaid program and allow it to expand current coverage. Opponents of the proposal say that for some individuals, obesity is the result of occurrences beyond their control, such as accident or illness.

An article in The Wall Street Journal notes that 25.5% of Arizona residents were considered obese as of 2009, and about 46% of the state’s Medicaid participants smoke daily, according to a 2006 survey. Moreover, the Journal added, “Unlike private insurers, which often charge different premiums based on customers’ health status, Medicaid must enroll all those who meet its eligibility requirements.”

Knowledge@Wharton asked two Wharton professors — Katherine Milkman, professor of operations and information management, and Kevin Volpp, professor of health care management — for their thoughts on three issues raised by the Republican governor’s proposal

When Fat Is No Longer Free | Knowledge@Wharton Today

Like many states, Arizona faces a serious budget crisis. But unlike other states, Arizona public officials have shown a remarkable skill for finding ways to address their projected $1.6 billion deficit that are unfair, unjust and cruel. Their latest bright idea is to balance the state budget on the bodies of poor Arizonans who are unlucky enough to be fat or addicted to tobacco.

Gov. Jan Brewer has now proposed levying a $50 fee on state Medicaid recipients who are obese and who don’t follow a doctor-supervised slimming regimen. She also wants to charge those who smoke.

The plan, if approved by the Republican-dominated legislature, would mark the first time a state-run but federally subsidized health-care program for the poor has charged people for unhealthy acts.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Monica Coury, spokeswoman for Arizona’s Medicaid program as endorsing the idea, saying “If you want to smoke, go for it. But, understand you’re going to have to contribute something for the cost of the care of your smoking.”

Opinion: Arizona, stop picking on the poor, obese – Health – Health care – Breaking Bioethics – msnbc.com

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, as part of a broader package to reduce costs of Medicaid in Arizona, is proposing an annual $50 charge for patients who are obese. The Wall Street Journal called this a “Fat Fee,” though it could go by many other names: Corpulence Cost, Plumpness Payment, Overweight Outlay, Stoutness Setback, Big-Bottom Dollar. Wordplay aside, if her proposal is approved by the state legislature and the federal government lodges no objections, it would mark the first time Medicaid patients have been financially punished for what the state deems unhealthy habits.

The charge would only kick in if the obese patient failed to follow a plan for slimming down. Similar fees would be levied on smokers who don”t quit and people with chronic diseases who fail to manage them as directed. There are also plans to freeze enrollment of certain classes, cut others and use some of the recaptured funds to revive coverage for organ transplants — a cut that got more than a little bad press when it went into effect last fall. All told, the plan is projected to fill in about $500 million of a $1.1 billion budget shortfall.

Arizona’s Flab Tax – Swampland – TIME.com

In Mexico, the latest anti-obesity public health campaign shows people with bulging stomachs eating greasy food.

“I have always thought that it’s your own fault,” said Sergio Miranda, 35, who has a shoeshine stand in Mexico City. “People eat just things that make them fat, like bread and pizza.”

Mr. Miranda said he did not really notice whether his clients were fat or not. But he does when he is wedged in a crowded city bus.

“The fatties take up a lot of space,” he said. “People are annoyed. It’s uncomfortable.”

At a time when global health officials are stepping up efforts to treat obesity as a worrisome public health threat, some researchers are warning of a troubling side effect: growing stigma against fat people.

Fat Thanks to Brian F. for the tip!

Spreading Fat Stigma Around the Globe – NYTimes.com

Police said the man’s skin had become attached to the fabric of the chair after he sat in it for two years.   Authorities said he was sitting in his own feces and urine and maggots were visible.   Police were called in to help transfer the man to the hospital.   Authorities said they had to cut a hole in the wall to get the man out of his home.

Shockingly, two other able-bodied people lived there—another man, who had a separate bedroom, and the girlfriend of the man who was stuck in the chair. Officials say the girlfriend served food to him, since he never got up.

Bellaire Code Enforcer Jim Chase says now the tennants have been given orders to clean it or leave it.

One officer said it was the worst thing he ever responded to.  And most said the worst part of all was the smell.  Ironically the landlord says the man in the chair rented from her before and used to be a vital active person.

She says she checked on them periodically but lately he always sat with a blanket over him.  She says she had no idea it had come to this.

Bellaire Man Found Stuck in Chair Dies at 43 – WTRF-TV – WTRF.com

Obese patients are twice as likely as non-obese patients to develop serious airway complications while under a general anesthetic, a new study has found.And severely obese patients were four times more likely to develop such problems, according to the report.

Obesity Could Raise Risks of General Anesthesia – US News and World Report

Waco’s Baptist sensibilities aren’t keeping the flocks of people away from Fat Ho Burgers. Since opening last week, the city’s newest burger shack has received more press than even Brittney Griner.  During the Monday lunch rush, a line of customers hungry for a Supa Dupa Fly Ho with Cheese snaked from the cashier to the door.

A single paper menu was passed down the line from customer to customer. “You are what you eat,” the menu proclaimed proudly. Among the other available options are the Bad Mamajama, the Fat Chicken Ho, the Sloppy Ho brisket sandwich and, curiously, A Fat Ho Named Bertha. The younger (or just smaller) set can enjoy a Tiny Fat Ho off the dollar menu.

Newly minted restaurateur Lakita Evans, 24, said the joint’s provocative name came to her when she was watching Mo’Nique’s 2006 film Phat Girlz. “I was trying to make myself laugh,” she said. “I knew the name would put a smile on people’s faces, so I just did it.”

Eat My Words :: Bite Into a Fat Ho Burger

Educating parents on healthy eating could be more effective at reducing childhood obesity than physical activity, a new study has found.

The study, undertaken by researchers from the universities of Newcastle and Wollongong, found that targeting parents rather than children is the key to combating childhood obesity.

The two-year study, titled Hunter Illawarra Kids Challenge Using Parent Support (HIKCUPS), involved 165 overweight children of primary-school age and their parents, who were divided into three groups.

In the first group, parents underwent a nutrition program in which they were encouraged to change the whole family’s food habits.

In the second group, kids were given physical education training; and in the third, both methods were used.

The results surprised the researchers involved.

“When we started the study, our hypothesis was that the group where both the parents and the kids got treated would do the best, but they actually didn’t,” Professor Clare Collins from the University of Newcastle told AAP.

Instead, the group where the parents were targeted and the kids did not receive any treatment achieved the best result.

Parents key to ending childhood obesity

President Hugo Chavez urged Venezuelans to cut their calories to avoid obesity – the latest lifestyle recommendation by the self-proclaimed socialist crusader.

Mr Chavez has lobbied in recent weeks against what he calls the evils of capitalism, including alcoholism, breast implants and violent television programmes.

“Be careful with weight gain!” warned Mr Chavez, speaking during his weekly television and radio programme.

Chavez warns people against obesity – World News, Breaking News – Independent.ie