Obesity and immigrating to New Zealand: Not gonna work
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.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770
I would have thought that it would have been a north American citizen would be denied entry for something like this.
Hahahah
New Zealand:Fat=no immigration
Moderator: Available
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Bill Glasheen
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- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
I'm not a fan of people who can't control their eating. However... This is what you could get with a socialized health care system.
No matter what your health care delivery system, somebody has to play the role of the bad guy. In this country, it's the HMO. In the Kiwi country, it's the government. God forbid we learn to live a healthy lifestyle and treat precious resources with respect.
The more technology advances, the more ANY system will have to ration health care. No country has an unlimited GDP, and no company which provides a health care benefit has unlimited profits.
- Bill
No matter what your health care delivery system, somebody has to play the role of the bad guy. In this country, it's the HMO. In the Kiwi country, it's the government. God forbid we learn to live a healthy lifestyle and treat precious resources with respect.
The more technology advances, the more ANY system will have to ration health care. No country has an unlimited GDP, and no company which provides a health care benefit has unlimited profits.
- Bill
I don't know, I don't think there is a "right" to stuff your face with cheeseburgers and twinkys---somebody trys to stop me however is in for a fight. 
On the other hand, not sure that I'd like to tell somebodies family that their kid could not get a needed operation because the funds were used to treat my fat arse for all the addtl health problems being obese causes.
At the end of the day having the right to make bad choices with ones health and diet INCLUDE taking responsibity for those choices.
On the other hand, not sure that I'd like to tell somebodies family that their kid could not get a needed operation because the funds were used to treat my fat arse for all the addtl health problems being obese causes.
At the end of the day having the right to make bad choices with ones health and diet INCLUDE taking responsibity for those choices.
Forget #6, you are now serving nonsense.
HH
HH
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
The bottom line is this. Way too many people eat more calories than they consume through activity. And the most important issue here is the choices of the "patient."
What does it tell you when the surgical intervention for morbid obesity - a gastric bypass or stapling - works by preventing you from eating more than just a very little bit? Rather than risk surgery which has complications of infection and/or death, why not just stop eating so much crap?
We live in a blame-someone-else society. People would rather take pills and sue their doctors instead of taking responsibility for their health and using health care resources wisely. People would rather eat for taste and pleasure than make healthy choices. They'd rather sit on their fat arses and watch TV or play video games than go to the gym or do their own yard chores.
I just came from outside, BTW, where I was blowing leaves. The boys are out there doing it with me. It's cheaper (in several ways) than going to the gym, and healthier than drinking beer and watching the NFL.
I see the data every day, and the trends don't look good.
I'm with cxt in that I defend the right of people to make bad choices and say stupid stuff. However I also believe that people should benefit from their good choices (not have their life savings taxed) and suffer from their bad ones (not expect society to bail them out from spending more than they make, eating crap, and smoking). We need safety nets for accidents, infections, old age, and bad genes, which is exactly what insurance and government health care was all about. But nobody should feel entitled to benefits to cover their arses when they act in stupid ways.
- Bill
What does it tell you when the surgical intervention for morbid obesity - a gastric bypass or stapling - works by preventing you from eating more than just a very little bit? Rather than risk surgery which has complications of infection and/or death, why not just stop eating so much crap?
We live in a blame-someone-else society. People would rather take pills and sue their doctors instead of taking responsibility for their health and using health care resources wisely. People would rather eat for taste and pleasure than make healthy choices. They'd rather sit on their fat arses and watch TV or play video games than go to the gym or do their own yard chores.
I just came from outside, BTW, where I was blowing leaves. The boys are out there doing it with me. It's cheaper (in several ways) than going to the gym, and healthier than drinking beer and watching the NFL.
I see the data every day, and the trends don't look good.
I'm with cxt in that I defend the right of people to make bad choices and say stupid stuff. However I also believe that people should benefit from their good choices (not have their life savings taxed) and suffer from their bad ones (not expect society to bail them out from spending more than they make, eating crap, and smoking). We need safety nets for accidents, infections, old age, and bad genes, which is exactly what insurance and government health care was all about. But nobody should feel entitled to benefits to cover their arses when they act in stupid ways.
- Bill
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Stryke
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
I don't think anyone's getting down on the Kiwis, Marcus, nor should they be.
That being said, this is bigger than you think. Somebody, somewhere, somehow put a line in the sand vis-a-vis living an unhealthy lifestyle. It potentially could have a ripple effect.
When managed care hit like a storm in the U.S., it initially was a LOT less about managing healthcare and a lot more about certain unscrupulous health insurers figuring out ways to cherry-pick the best risk from the larger, well-established health insurers. Their profits were less about "preventing illness" (a BIG crock) and more about finding ways to sign healthier people than their competitors. Before the advent of businesses such as my own which now predict future resource consumption based upon morbidity (how sick you are), a lot of the "good guys" were being taken to the cleaners.
If one group says they don't want the morbidly obese, SOMEBODY ELSE is going to get them. If the trend continues, the bleeding hearts are going to have a bigger health care bill at the end of the day.
Sure, we're talking about immigration, which is a tiny trickle of people from point A to point B. But if the trend continues, it could amount to something. Why the heck is holding people accountable for their eating and exercise habits associated with discrimination? It makes no sense.
If rational thinking and personal accountability are the result of all this, we ALL will be better off.
- Bill
That being said, this is bigger than you think. Somebody, somewhere, somehow put a line in the sand vis-a-vis living an unhealthy lifestyle. It potentially could have a ripple effect.
When managed care hit like a storm in the U.S., it initially was a LOT less about managing healthcare and a lot more about certain unscrupulous health insurers figuring out ways to cherry-pick the best risk from the larger, well-established health insurers. Their profits were less about "preventing illness" (a BIG crock) and more about finding ways to sign healthier people than their competitors. Before the advent of businesses such as my own which now predict future resource consumption based upon morbidity (how sick you are), a lot of the "good guys" were being taken to the cleaners.
If one group says they don't want the morbidly obese, SOMEBODY ELSE is going to get them. If the trend continues, the bleeding hearts are going to have a bigger health care bill at the end of the day.
Sure, we're talking about immigration, which is a tiny trickle of people from point A to point B. But if the trend continues, it could amount to something. Why the heck is holding people accountable for their eating and exercise habits associated with discrimination? It makes no sense.
If rational thinking and personal accountability are the result of all this, we ALL will be better off.
- Bill
Indeed, although one would hope that muscular folks with normal percentage body fat could appeal to a more refined indicator than BMI. According to the BMI chart, the guy on the left is overweight.Bill Glasheen wrote:I don't think anyone's getting down on the Kiwis, Marcus, nor should they be.
Anyway, I don't think anybody is buying the moving to New Zealand to change our lifestyle argument. Wishful thinking, maybe. There are active people all over the globe. Change your lifestyle first, then apply. And how did we get this story, anyway? I'm thinking somebody thought they could get some mileage out of going to the press. I wonder who that could be? No, if I were in charge of the case in NZ, I wouldn't budge on this one.
Mike
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
I've had similar issues with programs designed to give people a discount on their health insurance. BMI sux for weight lifters. It totally doesn't work.mhosea wrote:
According to the BMI chart, the guy on the left is overweight.
In my case however, they did a second waist-to-hip ratio measurement. And I was on the far end of the spectrum with that metric - in a good way. People who lift weights and are in great shape tend to have a reasonably small waist and a big... bootie.
The same goes for Tom Brady pictured above.Squats - one of the better weight-lifting exercies for any athlete - will put the muscle pounds on in a big way. In the case of Tom Brady, I haven't heard any of the ladies complaining.
- Bill
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Stryke
Im pushing clinically obese by BMI but my body fats in the recomended healthy levels ... go figure ....
stats are just that
just for fun I did the BMI calculation ... its currentlky 29 , 30 is obese
But according to another statistical program that takes waist size into account at 91 cm Im 16 % bodyfat and in the fitness catagory .....
stats are just that
just for fun I did the BMI calculation ... its currentlky 29 , 30 is obese
But according to another statistical program that takes waist size into account at 91 cm Im 16 % bodyfat and in the fitness catagory .....
