The Glade 4.0

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$2.4M of taxpayers' dollars are going to be spent on "gastric bypass and Lap-Band surgery for 100 of the state's heaviest employees".

I understand the argument that this will save much more in healthcare costs down the road, but am uncertain as to whether or not I can agree with the decision. Discuss?

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Go back to zero, take a pill, and get well ~ Lemmy Kilmister

I've had relatives get the lap-band. It's anecdotal, but there's not going to be any savings, and I'm guessing that costs will even increase.

At 2.4M, the argument can't be about money. It'd be cheaper to let the 100 heaviest employees die from the self-induced cardiac failure in a few years.

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In time, this too shall pass.

Just make a rule that states you only get coverage if you weight less than, say, 125% of your ideal weight (unless you can prove you have some sort of hormonal imbalance).

I think that this is a great idea. As stated in the article, it will both save lives and pay itself off in the long run. It's good to see that the state is paying to keep its employees healthy. It's the opposite of say, Soviet Russia, which underfed many of its workers leading to their deaths. Lastly, this provides work for the doctors and surgeons who will carry out the procedure. The money is going to good places instead of being relatively wasted on education.

Perhaps it is slightly the responsibility of the employees for being obese, but I find this relevant to the main issue. Obesity is caused by a variety of factors, which is mostly diet, and it often starts at a young age, I believe. People growing up are fed the food their parents feed them, and these behavior patterns set in, and the weight keeps piling on throughout adulthood. For those who don't know, switching a diet from nutritiously poor food to good food, and maintaining it, is incredibly difficult. This is why I don't think it's right to condemn people for bad habits.

And he's back.

It isn't difficult at all. Especially since nutritious food tastes better...

Wrong! But we have a nice consolation prize for you on your way out.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Try eating healthy for a few months then go see how good burger king tastes...

Burger King already tastes like crap, so I imagine it would still taste like crap. But there's no **** way I'm giving up my chili cheese dogs. You could tell me I would die if I ate one more and I would die a happy man.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

Burger King always tastes good!

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

I've reduced my carb intake to a much lower level than was my habit, and eliminated processed food with carbs. I crave things like fries and chips, when in the few times I've made exceptions (for family events, etc) I've been disappointed with the taste.

I've also lost close to 30 pounds without any effort.

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In time, this too shall pass.

Healthy eating doesn't mean denying yourself stuff like chili cheese dogs all the time; it means eating them in moderation. If you allow yourself one or two "unhealthy" meals a week, and eat sensibly the rest of the time, you can lose weight and be healthier just fine. Not only that, there's all kinds of meals that have something in them that's not dietetic, but as long as you don't go overboard on portions and the rest of the meal is basically healthy, it's a lot better than just wolfing down cheese dogs and fries for lunch every day.

There's also the aspect of exercise.There's too many people that don't get any exercise, and by no exercise, I meant they won't even park more than 100 feet from the mall entrance.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Burger King could sell dog **** on a bun and nobody would be able to tell the difference.

I had to read this title twice before I realized it said "bariatric", not "barbaric".

I like my headline better.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

I read it as barometric.

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Thank you...when I said eat healthy I didn't mean do nothing but graze on tofus and bean curds...

I just cut red meat to once (maybe twice) a week, make sure I have a fruit/vegetable at every meal, don't drink soda and control my portions. Once a week or so the wife and I go out and eat something awful like Chipotle or whatever. I try to keep my calorie intake around 2000-2200 and exercise 4 times a week. I lost the 20 pounds I gained after my motorcycle accident pretty quickly *shrug*.

Doing a cardio workout 5 times a week and lifting weights 3 times a week isn't hurting, either.

The real downside is if I'm driving a long distance or something I have to be very careful what junkfood place I stop at...BK/McD's makes me REALLY sick now...

It's how we keep costs down. A little smelly protein never hurt anyone.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

I'm thinking the bra strap is too tight there, king.

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In time, this too shall pass.

I read the title, then read the first post and was wondering why gastric bypass and lapband could be considered barbaric. In fact, until I read your post, I didn't realize that the thread title was in fact not barbaric.

Me, too.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

I didn't, but now that all of you said that I keep reading it that way.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

BARBARISM!

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Fun-fact:
Etymology of barbarian: The word is onomatopoeic, the bar-bar representing the impression of random hubbub produced by hearing a spoken language that one cannot understand, similar to blah blah and babble in modern English.

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It's a bit speculative, but yeah. I think I read about that on the Straight Dope. Apparently the Russian word for "German" has its origin in the Slavic roots for "mute", for similar reasons.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.