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.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

By the way, it's not JUST about fast food. The portion sizes at sit down restaurants are ABSURD.

THEN DON'T ****ING EAT EVERYTHING IN FRONT OF YOU. Or, better yet, don't go out to eat as much.

[Rain Man]

Gochiefs is making me hungry.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

I wish I could tell all my advertising clients that everyone is like GoChiefs, whatever I say in the ad he wants to go eat it.

Ed Hardy is entirely built on this concept.

Ed Hardy beer! Its Ed Hardy, so I must have it!

It's like those Krispy Kreme burgers. Probably just about nobody was eating Krispy Kreme burgers until places started advertising and selling them. Nobody was going to Krispy Kreme, buying donuts, taking them home, and putting beef and cheese between them.

Then some sadistic **** running that minor league team's concessions started doing it and now every fatass in America has to try it and you can buy it all over the place. And of COURSE it's tasty. What's not to like?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Donger

THEN DON'T ****ING EAT EVERYTHING IN FRONT OF YOU. Or, better yet, don't go out to eat as much.

If people did not have the option to eat that much, or if it was harder to find such places, we would not have these problems.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Gochiefs is making me hungry.

The ultimate irony of this thread is that I'm fasting.

[ClevelandBronco]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

By the way, it's not JUST about fast food. The portion sizes at sit down restaurants are ABSURD.

You sound like a dry alcoholic complaining that he's helpless because of the number of liquor stores and bars in town.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

If people did not have the option to eat that much, or if it was harder to find such places, we would not have these problems.

Possibly, but I find it stunning that you apparently assign NO blame to the fatties who are shoveling said food down their OWN throats.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Donger

Possibly, but I find it stunning that you apparently assign NO blame to the fatties who are shoveling said food down their OWN throats.

They're definitely to blame. They have a problem. Just like drug addicts have problems. But if the drug dealers weren't out to make a buck...

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

If people did not have the option to eat that much, or if it was harder to find such places, we would not have these problems.

Good point. If we'd just ration the food, people would have less to eat. But you don't want government controls or anything.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

They're definitely to blame. They have a problem. Just like drug addicts have problems. But if the drug dealers weren't out to make a buck...

But you are overlooking the point that no one is FORCING them to eat out, let alone eat fast food. They COULD just go to the grocery store and get a healthy meal (for less money). They don't.

If eating out and fast food was the only choice, I would be in 100% agreement with you.

It isn't.

[ClevelandBronco]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

They're definitely to blame. They have a problem. Just like drug addicts have problems. But if the drug dealers weren't out to make a buck...

You don't need the government in order to overcome your problems, GoChiefs.

[Hammock Parties]

I don't want the government to control the food industry. I'd like Quizno's to stop presenting Americans with the option to eat 2,000 calorie subs.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by Donger

But you are overlooking the point that no one is FORCING them to eat out, let alone eat fast food. They COULD just go to the grocery store and get a healthy meal (for less money). They don't.

If eating out and fast food was the only choice, I would be in 100% agreement with you.

It isn't.

This and the fact that it's not a secret that fast food and that other crap isn't healthy, yet people still choose to eat it because they are want it. So since it's already not a secret that fast food/shitty food is bad for your health, whose to say the people that fit the profile would choose to take advantage of a government run weightloss program?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Donger

But you are overlooking the point that no one is FORCING them to eat out, let alone eat fast food. They COULD just go to the grocery store and get a healthy meal (for less money). They don't.

That's because it's easier for them to run through the drive thru.

Take away the drive thru and you force them to eat healthier.

[007]

Yep, HIPPA doesn't apply to the government I see. What a crock of shit.