Regarding the controversial topic of whether an individual’s gastric by-pass surgery should be paid for by the government, it is my belief that tax dollars should not be used to help people manage their weight. This belief stems from a variety of reasons.
I feel that managing ones weight should be the responsibility of the individual and not of the government, that gastric by-pass surgery is expensive, and should be reserved only for people who need it to survive, not those who are merely attempting to improve their looks, and that the government should focus on programs which counteract the media’s message that you have to be thin to be beautiful, rather than feed that message by supporting gastric by-pass surgery as the only way to meet society’s expectations. For these reasons I feel that using tax dollars to pay for gastric by-pass surgery is not a beneficial idea.
When it comes to managing one’s weight, the person with the most control over the success or failure of the weight loss program is the individual themselves. I feel that if they are unable to lose weight themselves through dieting and exercise, then they should pay for their own gastric by-pass surgery, if they wish to get one. By dragging the government into this issue of social expectations and of weight loss, obese people are sifting the responsibility of maintaining a healthy weight from themselves, to that of the government.
This is unfair, as the government should not be held accountable for decisions made by individuals. Furthermore, I believe that overweight people need to learn effective ways to limit their calories, eat enough servings of all the food groups, and other vital information required to maintain a healthy lifestyle, as losing weight is a long-term process, and cannot be solved by a “miracle” fix, such as a one-time gastric by-pass surgery.
This “miracle” fix, which many obese people are turning to in order to become prettier in the eyes of the media, shouldn’t be used as a shortcut to becoming thin, but rather as a last resort for those whose weight is so unhealthy that it is dangerous for them to maintain it. I personally would have no problem with the government spending $15 -$ 50 thousand per gastric by-pass surgery if they were saving lives. However if they were done purely for the sake of improving one’s appearance, then I would feel that the money could have been spent better elsewhere.
A better place to spend this money could be on training youth how to cook their own healthy meals, advertising for places to go exercise in, and other ways involving the prevention of obesity in children, which I feel is more effective than waiting until the person is already obese before treating them using a gastric by-pass surgery. Another area were this money and focus could be spent on, is on spreading the message that if people are happy with their appearance and lifestyle, than they shouldn’t be constantly bombarded by media telling them otherwise.
The pressures from the media, in particularly the fashion and entertainment industries, is one of the main reasons that people are unhappy with their weight, and are looking for ways to change it, such as through a gastric by-pass surgery. If this pressure was eliminated then the only people who would bother going through a gastric by-pass surgery are those who needed it to survive, as the rest, who may be only slightly obese, won’t feel the need to become thinner. If this was the case, then, as I stated in the previous paragraph, I would have no problem with the government paying for people’s gastric by-pass surgeries.
However this is not an ideal world, and therefore, the reality is that gastric by-pass surgeries are done on individuals who’s motive may not entirely be their survival. Since this is the case, then I feel that purchasing a gastric by-pass surgery is like buying a running machine, as both are used for similar purposes; to lose weight and be healthy. Due to the fact that the government doesn’t pay for a person’s running machine, or other equipment that they purchase to help them remain healthy, then I do not understand why the government would be required to pay for a person’s gastric by-pass surgery.
Paying for gastric by-pass surgeries require a lot of money and commitment from the government. These resources could, arguably, be spent elsewhere, with individuals financing their own operations instead. I believe that this is the best solution to the controversy over whether the government should pay for gastric by-passes, as the individual needs to take responsibility for their healthy, rather than relying on the government.
Furthermore, it is uneconomical for the government to spend $15-$50 thousand per gastric by-pass surgery, and could save a lot of money by only paying for people’s operations that require them for their survival. Finally, if gastric by-pass surgeries are done for partially cosmetic reasons, then they should be paid for by the individual, as it would be similar to paying for a face lift, or another form of image enhancement. I feel that these changes in government policy, and in public opinion, would do a better job as a long term solution to obesity than supporting a quick “miracle” fix, which may not get to the source of the problem.