The new scouge of America

[Peter]

Some people are so overweight they have troubles walking, so they need a power chair. The bigger you are, the harder it is to move.

I suspect the trick is to get off your arse before you need mechanical assistance.  It's not like they wake up one morning and discover that they've gained 250kg during the night.

[Natalia Evans]

Sometimes that isn't always the case. I have watched medical shows about fat people and they have a medical condition about their body can't stop making fat. Every time they eat, it all goes to fat instead of how their bodies are supposed to use it. It's even bad if their body wants to be 800 pounds because their system is messed up inside them. Everyone has a system where our body wants to be a certain weight.
Another thing that can cause someone to be fat is thyroid problems. There are pills out there for it but they have to be prescribed to you. If you aren't diagnosed with that medical condition, there is no way you can help control your weight.
So therefore that's when they seek medical help but some don't seek it on time. I would guess they can't afford it. We have no free medical insurence here like you UKers do. So lot of people can't afford health insurence so they go without it.

[The_Chosen_One]

The big problem is that certain hospitals in the US tie themselves to a HMO and therefore will only see patients insured by that organization. Here, we have Medicare deducted from our pay (it should be a higher rate though) so that covers public hospitals. People still pay private insurance, but it's only if you want the choice of your doctor and to jump the queue. But Medicare doesn't mean free treatment either, cos there are some things you have to pay for. Still, you get some of it back.

Those morbidly obese people of the 400lb + range can't really blame their bodies so much though, because a lot of the cravings and habits would be psychological. Metabolic disorders aside, if they exercised and changed to a healthier diet, they wouldn't get that big.

Maybe when Obama gets elected people should suggest that he adopt a national health care system that covers everyone (taxpayers and welfare recipients) so that there is no need for greedy HMOs to be ripping off the system, and people to be denied help. Afterall, that's what taxes are for.

[Icequeen]

Neighbor really needs one, she has MS and basically not much if any feeling from the waist down.

But don't look at her shoes, she usually nabs a pair of her teenage daughters.

She is a maniac in the thing, has a boy the same age as mine with ADHD, he knows better than to try and run away from her when he does something rotten, she'll catch him. The way he's going though, someone needs to paint flames on the sides of the chair and give her a nitro pack for when he hits 14.