response 35 of 378:

Mar 4 21:37 UTC 2006

First of all, I'm skeptical of your repeated reference to the 95% failure
rate. Is it really failure if there's SOME regain, if ultimately there is
still a reduction? I guess I'd defer to Mary on this one. 

Do you also realize that you are essentially lumping the obese in with 
children and the elderly in terms of cost exteralization? Our society 
willingly pays greater costs for those groups (as compared to the average 
person) presumably because there is a sense that they are not as able as 
others to be responsible for their health needs. Overweight people impose 
similar costs on society, much like smokers. If the failure rate for 
quitting smoking was 95% would you also suggest that society should just 
give up on trying to motivate smokers to quit and stop externalizing the 
costs of their addiction on society?