What do you do if youre dangerously overweight? Most of us would go to see a doctor or nutritionist and find solutions to deal with obesity.
That option definitely was not Caesar Barber's taste. Reaves said that it was all Barber's fault from being too heavy himself and he shouldnt blame McDonald's.
Reaves is essentially saying this to Barber, "You have suffered heart attacks a few times and had diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol for many years; thus, you should know to stop eating fast food. You cant blame anyone else for your obesity".
Obesity is a hot topic right now. Many people spend time and money on weight-loss programs. They all have one in common: theyre too fat. Although the government has nothing to do with obesity, the government seems worried about it.
There are many reasons for the government to worry about obesity. Obesity, characterized by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, causes about 300,000 deaths a year in the U.S.; it can lead to such potentially dangerous, even life-threatening conditions as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart-attacks, or stroke. Many cases like these have caused doctors headaches for years and are still coming like deluges towards their clinics.
Back to Mr. Barber. According to the Associated press, Barber is a 5-ffot-10-inch maintenance worker who weighs 272 pounds. Yes, he suffered heart attacks in 1996 and 1999 and has diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. But, why should he think his obesity is caused by these? It's very common for doctors to spend only a few minutes with patients. Doctors make money based on numbers of the patients treated, not how well they treated. The doctors often treat the complaints of the patients and dont usually check the whole body.
Yet, Reaves assumed that Barber should know his diet is bad, because he has several health problems and said Barber's doctor should have told him about his diet.