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.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

The major reason is the food industry.

Unless some wealthy philanthropist decides to do the entire country a favor, the government is going to have to do something about it.

Yup.

The food industry shoves food in peoples mouths and plants them on the couch.

The food industry forces people into hurried lifestyles that require them to eat processed foods.

Hell, if you want to blame something - let's blame the entity that takes 2/3 of your wealth through various sales/business/income taxes and parses out out amongst useless programs. That same entity that forces you to work harder to take home less so you don't have time to make healthy meals, excercise like you should or get the appropriate amount of sleep.

Let's go ahead and blame the entity that you want to give more control.

You do not have the chops for this discussion. This is like punching a reerun but at least the reerun knows how badly he's getting his ass kicked.

You really don't have a clue.

[ArrowheadHawk]

Originally Posted by Brock

Do you want me to post links? Or are you too ****ing intellectually lazy to read them?

I'm open to links. Much more productive than name calling.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

People are a lot fatter now than they were 50 years ago.

Why?

breakdown of family..single parents, and personal irresponsibilty

[Brock]

Originally Posted by ArrowheadHawk

Look Brock an inteligent answer....You are right it wasn't diet soda alone that caused me to lose weight. It was calorie counting which was greatly helped by drinking Diet rather than Regular soda.

So it wasn't the aspartame that caused you to lose weight. Thanks for finally admitting it.

[Brock]

There's so many more TV shows than there were 50 years ago!! It's TV'S FAULT OMGZ

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

People are a lot fatter now than they were 50 years ago.

Why? The food industry changed.

The American lifestyle changed.

The food industry adapted to it.

You honestly think it's the 'food industry' (and you don't even have a concrete definition of what you're talking about) that drove the country to working longer hours? You think it's the food industry that destroyed the family meal or exercise?

Jesus you're stupid. The idea of a spurious correlation doesn't even enter your skull, does it?

[sedated]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

People are a lot fatter now than they were 50 years ago.

Why? The food industry changed.

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the increase in technology like cars, leading to the suburban sprawl, which made walking obsolete. Or the shift from industrial jobs to office jobs. Or the invention of television that keeps people inside on the couch whenever they have free time, rather than outside doing something physical.

Life is easier than it used to be. Just watch "Wall-E" for a glimpse into our possible future.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by stevieray

breakdown of family..single parents, and ipersonal irresponsibilty

The food industry caused that.

People are fat because McDonalds tells them to be.

Let's not discuss what led to the rise of fast foods, that would require entirely too much insight.

[mikey23545]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

We'll all get 1 cup of rice a day and will long for the days when we could eat things like fruits and vegetables.

Oh, you mean like the people of North Korea?

Don't worry, Obama is getting us there as fast as he can.

[seclark]

Originally Posted by stevieray

breakdown of family..single parents, and personal irresponsibilty

this, plus a lot more occupations consisted of more physical activity.
edit, to add that more people ate meals at home, together.
sec

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by seclark

this, plus a lot more occupations consisted of more physical activity.
sec

yup... a serve me society is dibilitating.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You do not have the chops for this discussion. This is like punching a reerun but at least the reerun knows how badly he's getting his ass kicked.

You really don't have a clue.

Your desire to rip me is clouding your judgment.

You don't need "chops" for this discussion. It's plainly obvious that the food industry is to blame. Portion sizes have increased significantly and there are more unhealthy options for dining out, and more of those options.

Don't get me started on food delivery, the internet, grocery stores....

[RJ]

Originally Posted by seclark

this, plus a lot more occupations consisted of more physical activity.
edit, to add that more people ate meals at home, together.
sec

I think those are the biggest reasons. I wish I had a way to be more physically active while I'm at work.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by Brock

So it wasn't the aspartame that caused you to lose weight. Thanks for finally admitting it.

To be fair, he did say it helped not caused. Since he used helped, it was an accurate statement.

[Hammock Parties]

Skinny asian people come to America and turned into fatasses all the time.

Why? Because the entire culture of food and eating is different here. We're constantly bombarded with MORE FOOD FOR LESS MONEY advertising and shit like TACO BELL FOURTHMEAL!!!!