Replies to post #137967 on Amarin Corp Plc (AMRN)

[Benny7459]

JL,

Unfortunately problem is not just with the “fat people”. I have watched many lectures by Dr Robert Lustig. He had a Venn diagram in one of these lectures that told the story. It was broken down by normal weight and obese people and percent that had metabolic dysfunction. Out of 240 million Americans, 30% obese, 70% normal weight. 80% of the obese population had metabolic dysfunction equating to 57M. However 40% of normal weight had metabolic dysfunction which equated to 67M. So there are more sick normal weight people than obese. And over half of US population is sick. That’s scary.

One of main issues is people have no idea how to eat anymore. We have been told fat is bad and we should all “eat less, exercise more”. And a “calorie is a calorie”. All this advice has been shown to be completely wrong and not work. The food industry has removed all the fat from foods and replaced with sugar. 80% of all food in a supermarket has added sugar. And the myth of high fructose corn syrup being worse than sucrose (table sugar). It’s all added up to an extremely sick population and yes, a very obese population.

[ilovetech]

So true!

[shadolane]

I just got back from a week at Ocean City, MD.

The majority at pool side and on the beach were excessively over weight.

The food industry may very well play a significant role in this issue. Restaurants serve portions far too large as well. But also people have adopted the idea that it's ok in spite if the issue being to their own demise.

Weight control becomes more difficult with age. At least that is my experience. But obesity is seen in the younger crowd as well.

It does seem that this is a very major issue in the US.

[smarterer]

JL,

I agree that malpractice reform is needed, but we alo need insurance reform. I have a running buddy who was my PCP until I moved away, and he runs a one-doc office. Malpractice is challenging, due to the insurance rates (which I don't hold insurance companies fully liable for; lawyers are more to blame there, though insurance isn't angelic, either). However, the bigger challenge he faces is the myriad coding differences for the same procedure among different insurers and medicare/medicaid. Each has its own coding and criteria, and if you miscode payment will be delayed or denied altogether.

One of the outcomes of this is that in Bellingham, WA where he practices Peace Health has taken over almost all practices. He would not make it if he didn't have his wife and a couple of his grown kids working the office for him. I think some standardization of procedure coding might be an example of effective, positive regulation over the current system. As it is, coding mistakes--or simply audits by insurers looking to not pay legitimate claims--in the end get passed on to everyone, and/or drive doctors out of business or to more lucrative practices, to the detriment of most of us wanting a good GP and struggling to find one.