Government will require all Americans by 2014 to have a Obesity Rating

[teedubya]

I'm Doooooooomed. LOL.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/69436

Obesity Rating for Every American Included in Stimulus-Mandated Electronic Health Records

New federal regulations issued this week stipulate that the electronic health records--that all Americans are supposed to have by 2014 under the terms of the stimulus law that President Barack Obama signed last year--must record not only the traditional measures of height and weight, but also the Body Mass Index: a measure of obesity.

The obesity-rating regulation states that every American's electronic health record must: “Calculate body mass index. Automatically calculate and display body mass index (BMI) based on a patient’s height and weight.”

The law also requires that these electronic health records be available--with appropriate security measures--on a national exchange.

The new regulations are one of the first steps towards the government’s goal of universal adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by 2014, as outlined in the 2009 economic stimulus law. Specifically, the regulations issued on Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, define the "meaningful use" of electronic records. Under the stimulus law, health care providers--including doctors and hospitals--must establish "meaningful use" of EHRs by 2014 in order to qualify for federal subsidies. After that, they will be subjected to penalties in the form of diminished Medicare and Medicaid payments for not establishing "meaningful use" of EHRs.

Section 3001 of the stimulus law says: "The National Coordinator shall, in consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies (including the National Institute of Standards and Technology), update the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (developed as of June 3, 2008) to include specific objectives, milestones, and metrics with respect to the following: (i) The electronic exchange and use of health information and the enterprise integration of such information.‘‘(ii) The utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014."

Under this mandate in the stimulus law, Secretary Sebelius issued a regulation--developed by Dr. Blumenthal--that requires that all EHRs keep track of a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) score. Body Mass Index is a ratio between a person’s weight and height, and is used to determine whether or not someone is overweight or obese. It is the preferred method of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for measuring obesity.

Michelle Obama has made dealing with the problem of childhood obesity the main theme of her term as First Lady.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)
According to the CDC, “BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.”

A person’s BMI score is used as a tool to screen for obesity or excessive body fat that could lead to other health problems. While it does not actually measure body fat directly, according to CDC, the BMI scores generally correlate with a person’s body fat percentage.

The new regulations also stipulate that the new electronic records be capable of sending public health data to state and federal health agencies such as HHS and CDC. The CDC, which calls American society “obesogenic” – meaning that American society itself promotes obesity – collects BMI scores from state health agencies every year to monitor obesity nationwide.

“Electronically record, retrieve, and transmit syndrome based public health surveillance information to public health agencies,” the regulations read.

With the spread of electronic health records, the CDC apparently will be able to collect such data more efficiently and with greater accuracy because the electronic record keeping systems can send the data automatically, eliminating the need for government – both state and federal – to keep, send, and process physical records.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Brock

If you mean "Every single one of them", you're right.

There is a war going on.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-LOVE...X/187693159481

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4837278821

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

The majority.

That's the problem, not the fact that it's an option presented to them. As soon as a person makes an informed decision there is no reason to place blame on anyone else.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

That's the problem, not the fact that it's an option presented to them.

It's the fixable problem. The food industry is not fixable.

I'd like to do a study of two small towns - one with only a few small grocery stores and normal mom and pop restaurants. The other one is full of chain restaurants and giant grocery stores.

Which town would be fatter?

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

It's the fixable problem. The food industry is not fixable.

I'd like to do a study of two small towns - one with only a few small grocery stores and normal mom and pop restaurants. The other one is full of chain restaurants and giant grocery stores.

Which town would be fatter?

Good luck finding small towns without access to giant groceries and chain restaurants. They're everywhere now, even where I grew up in BFE West Virginia, with a population of a thousand.

Although I can also tell you from my experience before the chains arrived that people in rural areas are just as capable of growing morbidly obese eating home cooked food.

[Hammock Parties]

People for sure. But how many people? And how many kids?

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

It's the fixable problem. The food industry is not fixable.

I'd like to do a study of two small towns - one with only a few small grocery stores and normal mom and pop restaurants. The other one is full of chain restaurants and giant grocery stores.

Which town would be fatter?

I'm from a town of 200 that had one Cafe, there were still plenty of fat people including myself.

Edit: I do agree with you that with more bad options you'll have more people that choose that option, but my whole point is if that person is educated on what and how much they are eating is it still the fault of the place serving it?

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

People for sure. But how many people? And how many kids?

Pretty much everybody was fat where I grew up, kids included (although I actually wasn't) and this was 30 years ago, long before Wal-Mart and Applebee's arrived. Tons of butter and cooking everything in lard will do that. Not to mention soda and kool-ade for the kids and beer for the adults.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Pretty much everybody was fat where I grew up, kids included (although I actually wasn't) and this was 30 years ago, long before Wal-Mart and Applebee's arrived. Tons of butter and cooking everything in lard will do that. Not to mention soda and kool-ade for the kids and beer for the adults.

No McDonalds?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

my whole point is if that person is educated on what and how much they are eating is it still the fault of the place serving it?

I'm not arguing that its anyone's fault but their own, I'm just exploring the reason why America is fat.

I think it has more to do with industry than individual.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

No McDonalds?

Not back then, no. They have them now.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

I'm not arguing that its anyone's fault but their own, I'm just exploring the reason why America is fat.

I think it has more to do with industry than individual.

Unless the industry is tying people to chairs and shoving food down their gullets, the problem is on the individual level.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Unless the industry is tying people to chairs and shoving food down their gullets, the problem is on the individual level.

I should say "became" instead of "is."

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

I'm not arguing that its anyone's fault but their own, I'm just exploring the reason why America is fat.

I think it has more to do with industry than individual.

Advanced technology + laziness + more time consuming lives + less stay at home moms + more stress + plenty of other factors = fat

The food plays a part in it, but it's not the reason.

[Third Eye]

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

Advanced technology + laziness + more time consuming lives + less stay at home moms + more stress + plenty of other factors = fat

The food plays a part in it, but it's not the reason.

While these factors certainly contribute, I think the biggest issue is that Americans have more disposable income than anywhere else in the world. Historically, weight has been tied to wealth and I think it is the same today.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by Third Eye

While these factors certainly contribute, I think the biggest issue is that Americans have more disposable income than anywhere else in the world. Historically, weight has been tied to wealth and I think it is the same today.

I'd tend to agree with this as well. Even the poorest of people here are out buying McDonalds dollar menu instead of working their asses off growing their own food to feed their family.