Morbidly Obese man to cost taxpayer £90,000 for trip to hospital

[Nosha123]

Would you object to taxpayers money being used to try to save this mans life? Can he change his ways - or is the operation too risky to undertake?

Just a point for discussion...

http://news.sky.com/s...l_For_Life-Saving_Op_

[jno]

I pay for cancer treatment for smokers every day; I can't see why this should be any different. That's what a national health service is for.

[Nosha123]

True jno....
His weight will make the operation a very very risky one.....
But I guess this is no different to treating smokers or alcoholics who continue to smoke and drink....

(frightening that its costing so much JUST to get him there though!) I cannot fathom how on earth he has allowed himself to ruin his life by getting so big.. and who on earth is bringing him the food eh???

[jno]

he's got a 'compulsive eating disorder' - I haven't the faintest idea what that is, but it may be no different from being addicted to nicotine or alcohol.

[ItchyMoti]

I pay for alcoholics to have treatment every day; I can't see why this should be any different. That's what a national health service is for.

[ItchyMoti]

He was looked after by his widowed mother until she died six weeks ago aged 76. He now has two full-time carers.

[jno]

funny echo in here

[Nosha123]

why is ItchiMoti repeating everything???

[ummmm]

lol...I wondered that.

[ItchyMoti]

repeating everything, me ?

I said , I pay for alcoholics ?

who else put this ?

[hc4361]

We treat mass murderers who are serving life in prison; the criminally insane; the socially inept; the skivers and shirkers; the good, the bad and the ugly.
This man is no better or worse than anyone else.

[philkool]

did this bloke eat his mum ?

[Nosha123]

maybe he did eat his m um.. maybe she forgot to pick up the Maccy D on her way home and he ate her instead!!!!

[cazzz1975]

I pay for alcoholics and smokers to have treatment every day; I can't see why this should be any different. That's what a national health service is for.

[andy-hughes]

This type of news piece always provokes discussion because as a culture, we naturally deride overweight people.

Our society has always been 'fattist' - although this has only been a concept seen since the last war, because prior to that, no-one had enough food to eat to be overweight. Now with the advent of sedentary lifestyles and junk food, the levels of obesity have soared, and with them, the inherent distrust and derision of overweight people.

I think that taking the moral high ground over smokers, drinkers, drug addicts and obsese people can lead us into being deeply cynical and uncaring people with an unhealthy attitude of superiority to people who often have issues that they did not create and with which they are unable to cope.

So the short answer is - no, I do not object to tax-payers' money being used to treat this man - and to deride or begrudge him a chance to life because of a socail attitude to obesity is not a concept to which I would willingly subscribe.

[ummmm]

Smokers and drinkers pay enough revenue.

[cazzz1975]

you know andy, I was looking at some old pictures of people from 1909 and I was surprised to see quite a few fatties! maybe its more down to todays media driven society constantly praising people for starving themselves , then holding them up as the ultimate sex symbol, people seem very shallow these days which is sad.

[ummmm]

It all depended on wealth though.

My Great Grandad and Nan were both fat but they quite wealthy.

[cazzz1975]

my partners relatives were poor but fat,his nan wasnt lazy either, she worked very hard (no appliances back then) but looking back through her family history all of her relatives were about the same size and height, very bizarre.

70 stone is pushing it though, thats an expensive shopping list!

[craft1948]

Victoria Beckham has...............