to find the reaction to BMI related vaccines.... interesting?

[staydazzling]

Ive noticed a lot of posts on twitter and of course Prof. Tracey from Facebook type posts bemoaning the fact people with a high BMI are getting an early vaccine, how undeserving we all are, its almost as if "we only care about your health" only applies if we are at a disadvantage in the health care system, and as soon as an outdated measurement gives us an advantage that 'care' is replaced by resentment 🤔. funny that, almost as if it was never motivated by care at all.
A big reason why ill have to tell noone ive had the vaccine i also have an immune condition that flags me not particularly serious, ive only ever been in hospital to give birth, many others like me, seeing lots of true colours recently. finally benefitting from the blunt instrument that is BMI and apparently that's no ok either! all very interesting.

@Rasclut

Can I ask, have you ever been obese and then slimmed down to a healthier weight?

Of course not, I value my health so have never become obese as I have enough unhealthy habits already.

I WANT YOU TO STAY ALIVE FOR YOUR CHILDREN!

(prioritised for vaccine) ,,.... nah,lets not get carried away!!

@Rasclut

Of course not, I value my health so have never become obese as I have enough unhealthy habits already.

Do tell us what they are so we can make moral judgements on them.

I think it is appropriate that people with a very high BMI are vaccinated for the simple reason that if they get the virus, they are more likely to get very sick, need hospital treatment and are more likely to die.

There’s nothing more to it.

@Newpuppymummy couldn’t agree more. I also had a ridiculous experience with a dietitian who didn’t talk about the mental health aspect of overeating, or why I was coming home from school after being bullied and hiding food. There have been times in my life where due to severe depression I’ve felt that the only thing that made me happy was food. I’ve done a huge amount of counselling (self funded into the thousands) and work to address that and now eat healthily and exercise lots - I walk around 100,000 steps a week minimum as well as body weight and cardio, but I’m still fat. PCOS and medication don’t help. It’s frustrating to be judged by people with less healthy habits than me just because they’re thinner. I know people with hideous mh conditions on antipsychotic medication which cause huge weight gain and the idea that they’re just lazy or whatever is just evil.

Of course not, I value my health so have never become obese as I have enough unhealthy habits already.

So you don’t really know what you’re talking about?

Yep OP.. my BMI is 44 and I should hopefully therefore be on the Group 6 list (did speak to GP yesterday about an unrelated matter and updated that BMI). I won't be telling anyone other than family when I've had the jab because I am scared of the reaction of other people.

Yes, I am morbidly obese. I have been my whole adult life. I haven't lost weight during lockdown.. but then I haven't gained any either. I've not been sitting there baking bread and cakes, I've been working 60 hour weeks from my spare bedroom.

As far as I can see the fat people get more abuse purely because it's visible. Yes, I am very fat. However, I have never smoked a cigarette in my life, never tried even the mildest of illegal drugs and I am virtually teetotal (genuinely cannot remember the last time I had a drink). A smoking habit, drug habit or drink habit can be hidden very well. An overeating habit (or the assumption of one, never mind if that's true or not) is there for the world to see.

@Etherealhedgehog

The prioritisation for vaccines isn't based on some kind of ranking of deservingness - otherwise they obviously wouldn't have started with people in their 90s who are on their last legs anyway! It's designed to reduce pressure on the NHS and society as quickly as possible by reducing the level of serious illness and death. On those grounds it absolutely makes sense to prioritise people with high BMI as we know they are at higher risk of hospitalisation/death.

People who think that those with high BMI are undeserving and should be deprioritised presumably should also be in favour of all sorts of other criteria being used - deprioritise anyone with a history of law-breaking, prioritise anyone who does volunteer work etc etc. Except that would be nonsense, obviously. This is a practical public health exercise, not some kind of biblical reckoning.

Exactly! We should want everyone most at risk of hospitalisation to be vaccinated as soon as possible as the greater risk to us all is that the NHS is overwhelmed.

I am CEV (group 4 priority) and I haven’t been vaccinated yet as since it has been available to me I haven’t been well enough to have it. Despite this the far greater risk to me is that I will need an ambulance or hospital for non-Covid reasons and this won’t be sufficiently available due to Covid.
Selfishly, I want people with high BMI to have the vaccine so that they aren’t taking up a hospital bed that I need.

@Rasclut

For me it's just ridiculous that someone with a bmi of 40 plus is pretending to be concerned about health when they have had a whole year to lose weight and chosen to spend that year stuffing their faces and posting stay the fuck at home all over social media. If obese people want the vaccine, they should take it, we will all get offered it so I dont care when they get offered it.

I believe obesity is caused by excess calories and is ALWAYS reversible if the patient is willing to eat less. I know there are medical and emotional reasons why people find it hard to eat less but I'm not about to engage with the 'you're mean, it's not my fault I'm obese' crowd. No, it's not your fault you're obese, its your choice to stay obese ffs!

I feel better for that rant!

whilst I wouldn't go as far as this rant, I see where you're coming from.

I can confirm that it is possible to go from being obese to a healthy weight over the past year. It has been fucking hard work and there have been a lot of moments where i have had a real battle with my demons to stay away from the drink and junk food or to force my fat arse into a pair of running shoes when I was shattered from work and home schooling. So there is a part of me that is slightly annoyed that I would have qualified for a jab if i had taken the easy option over the past year.

BUT... i reconcile it that I am now far less likely to die from multiple other diseases, and that if I DO get Covid and it's serious, I am far more likely to get good treatment quickly, as the hospital beds aren't full of people with diabetes/90 year olds/morbidly obese people. So even though I haven't been vaccinated, the overall benefit of not being obese far outweighs the risks, and there is an overall social gain.

But if you are obese, please take it from me that it is possible to change your life. It is hard. It can be downright miserable at times, but it is sooooooooooooooooo worth it.

I can confirm that it is possible to go from being obese to a healthy weight over the past year.

Women with a BMI over 40 have a 1 in 677 chance of obtaining a normal weight. 78% of those that do will put all of the weight back on within 5 years.

(I don't mean to sound smug, by the way, but just saying that i see both sides)

I'm happy for those who need to be prioritized to go first. That's it. No judging here.

It’s bonkers. Even if you take a full on Katie Hopkins approach of punishing fat people because they should eat less, that doesn’t affect the fact that younger obese people are relatively more likely to take up ICU beds. The quicker those beds empty the sooner we can all go down the pub, so we need to vaccinate the people most likely to fill them, regardless of the reason why.

Weight is an easy visible indicator of unhealthy choices - but that's not always what contributes to self-inflicted ill health.

Smoking, poor diet (not obesity related), drinking, drugs, poor management of medical conditions. Etc.

@Dontwanttooutmyself

(I don't mean to sound smug, by the way, but just saying that i see both sides)

Sorry but you do sound smug. I probably did as well when I lost 20kg almost 13 years ago. Unfortunately it’s gradually crept back in the last three years and, thanks to my metabolism being over a decade older, it’s going to be a lot harder to get rid of now.

I don't mind other people having the vaccine before me and I also don't care who has it if it would otherwise go to waste at the end of a day either even if that person is a healthy 19 year old - better that than throwing it away.

Surely this is just a question of logic? We prioritise vaccines towards those who are most likely to finish up in hospital as a result of a Covid infection. This will include large numbers of people who might have some influence over their own health outcomes including obesity, but also those with various forms of cancer and diabetes. It would feel very judgemental to me to effectively say your overweight/smoked too much/drank too much, you are on your own?

@Rasclut
I believe that many people who are excessively overweight have other issues & it is as much a psychological issue WHICH NEEDS to be treated & supported as bulimia & anorexia. Many medications can cause weight gain as well (many for depression or other mental health)

Dontwanttooutmyself

Well done! I don’t think anyone is saying that it’s not beneficial to be a healthy weight. Just that sometimes people who have not experienced obesity themselves don’t understand the issues involved. They can’t understand why people don’t just eat less.

Vaccines reduce transmission, so every time another person gets a vaccine we collectively benefit. Their vaccine means that you have less chance of contracting Covid.
I think we need to vaccinate in age order now that the most vulnerable have been looked after. It's the only way to do it without all this resentment.

Every vaccinated person makes it a tiny bit safer for everyone. Why should we give a flying fuck why they were offered it? It’s none of anyone’s business.

I remember at school having to debate questions such as - should smokers have to pay for lung cancer treatment? Which is a similar concept.*

They do, tax from smoking is a few billion up on the cost of treating smokers each year.

Maybe we should tax body fat %

I see @MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously said the same, but with less swearing.

@Rasclut

For me it's just ridiculous that someone with a bmi of 40 plus is pretending to be concerned about health when they have had a whole year to lose weight and chosen to spend that year stuffing their faces and posting stay the fuck at home all over social media. If obese people want the vaccine, they should take it, we will all get offered it so I dont care when they get offered it.

I believe obesity is caused by excess calories and is ALWAYS reversible if the patient is willing to eat less. I know there are medical and emotional reasons why people find it hard to eat less but I'm not about to engage with the 'you're mean, it's not my fault I'm obese' crowd. No, it's not your fault you're obese, its your choice to stay obese ffs!

I feel better for that rant!

Nice.