Saturday, November 17, 2007

Yep, We Need National Health Care

From Here


British woman banned from entering New Zealand because she is too fat

A British woman planning to start a new life with her husband in New Zealand has been banned from entering the country - because she is too fat.

Rowan Trezise, 33, has been left behind in England while her husband Richie, 35, has already made the move down under leaving her desperately trying to lose weight.

When the couple first tried to gain entry to the country they were told that they were both overweight and were a potential burden on the health care system.

Mr Trezise managed to shed two inches from his sizeable waistline to fulfil criteria set out as part of his visa application to work as a technician in the country.

His wife however has had no such luck and faces a desperate battle to shed the pounds before Christmas, at which point the couple say they will abandon their overseas plans.

New Zealand officials assess people's weight using Body Mass Index which measures fat by comparing the height and weight of an individual.

Mr Trezise, a submarine cable specialist and former member of the army said his BMI was measured at 42 making him well over the limit of 25 which is regarded as overweight.


"My doctor laughed at me. He said he'd never seen anything more ridiculous in his whole life," he said.

"He said not every overweight person is unhealthy or unfit. The idea was that we were going to change our lifestyle totally and get outdoors and on mountain bikes and all sorts of activities."

Robyn Toomath, a spokesman for New Zealand's Fight the Obesity Epidemic and an endocrinologist said that obese people should not be victimised, but agreed with the restrictions.

"The immigration department can't afford to import people who are going to be a significant drain on our health resources.

"You can see the logic in assessing if there is a significant health cost associated with this individual and that would be a reason for them not coming in."

While the New Zealand Immigration Service could not say how many peolpe had been refused entry on similar grounds, the Emigrate New Zealand website revealed that many people had been banned for being obese.


If you want to be told how to live, fine. Don't expect me to live the way you think everyone else should, and don't expect me to pay the bill for all this "free" advice and health care. I've been diligent in leaving y'all alone, and expect the same in return.

H/T to Andrea

3 comments:

Sezme said...

Anorexics tax the health care system, too. So do skinny people with high cholesterol. Just because people metabolize their food better than others does not mean one person is especially healthier than another. I take thyroid medicine. I have skinny-ass relatives that take three to four medications for high blood pressure, anxiety, cholesterol...all kinds of crap.

Asses.

Anonymous said...

This is bound to happen when the government runs healthcare. Just sayin'. One more reason to keep the Dems out of the White House (and Congress, and the State House, and well, you get the picture).

Bob's Blog said...

And our health care system is being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants from Mexico, many of whom have extremely poor health habits.