Health Care Reform; How has it effected You?

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-27-11, 06:12 PM

So, I was reading about schizophrenia trying to find out more about it, and I learned that treatment for schizophrenia incurs costs of $63 billion a year. I wonder if universal health care would help prevent more people from developing schizophrenia. Either way, if we could figure out how to stop and prevent schizophrenia that's a lot of money to be saved.

**Nuckle** · 03-27-11, 06:15 PM

Take a look at Diabetes. That is what is going to bankrupt this program.

**SovietDooM** · 03-27-11, 06:16 PM

I kind of remeber hear about this in my psycology class, schizophrenia having to do with an in balance in the chemicals present in the nerve cells.

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-27-11, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by Nuckle

Take a look at Diabetes. That is what is going to bankrupt this program.

What more can we do about that? Kids in school are already encouraged to excercise. School meals are all made to be healthy. Kids are taught nutrition. There will always be the cases due to genetics but I'm willing to bet the majority of cases are due to poor diets/lack of exercise.

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-27-11, 06:31 PM

Maybe remedial PE class for the fat kids taught by ex-Marine drill sergeants?

**Alundil** · 03-28-11, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by DJ Mr. White

What more can we do about that? Kids in school are already encouraged to excercise. School meals are all made to be healthy. Kids are taught nutrition. There will always be the cases due to genetics but I'm willing to bet the majority of cases are due to poor diets/lack of exercise.

Originally Posted by DJ Mr. White

Maybe remedial PE class for the fat kids taught by ex-Marine drill sergeants?

Well having school age children myself (and thank goodness they are active little buggers) I can say that the "Healthy" school menus are not all that they are advertised. I see nothing inherently "nutritious" about the average daily/weekly menus sadly. Given that the kids can often choose a la cart style meals and even have the choice of an "alternative" menu they invariably pick and choose the things that "taste good" like pizza, mac and cheese etc etc. Comfort foods. Foods that they like to eat. Foods that are by no stretch of the imagination "healthy". To add insult to injury, every year the schools send home a memo about what foods parents are allowed to send to the school with their children. Explicitly forbidden are "candies" and junk foods like snack cakes etc. However, I come to find out that the teachers themselves, lo and behold, are exempt from that restriction apparently as several of them run a small "snack" grocery service out of their class rooms. Little Johnny gets hungry? Purchase a snack cake from the teach. Crazy-ass double standard. Well that's just a few "rogue" teachers you say? The school doesn't condone that you say? Hmmm, if nutrition was so vital and the list of restricted food items so important to follow that you send a list to every household, why then does the school cafeteria sell cookies (with no limit per student lunch) and Rice Crispy treats to name a few?

Double standard. Plain and simply. Do as I say and not do as I do SOP.

As for PE, don't get me started. The PE classes at this point might as well be cut completely to save budget money for all the use they do. I swear, the level of "required" activity in PE makes Home Economics look strenuous.

:/

Gah!!!! There went my "happy me" Monday. Now I'm aggravated again, as usual.

**deathgodusmc** · 03-28-11, 10:15 AM

Personally i dont think the government should be telling people what they can feed their kids. They want alter the menu thats their choice but anything outside that should be off limits.

**Bubbasam** · 03-28-11, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by deathgodusmc

Personally i dont think the government should be telling people what they can feed their kids. They want alter the menu thats their choice but anything outside that should be off limits.

The elementary school my kids went to was a private catholic school that was involved in the National School Lunch Program. Here is a blip from their website that describes it and gives a link. It is federally funded (not completely) and they must use the guidelines set forth for "a nutritious meal that contains 1/3 of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of necessary nutrients" and contain "healthy school meals that are consistent with the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), the calorie goals and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans." Sounds like a good idea in theory, but how closely do the schools follow the guidelines when preparing the meals and who monitors them to see if they are, and how much does this cost the government to subsidize these meals?

Well I just googled it and here are the costs:

9. How much does the program cost?
The National School Lunch Program cost $9.8 billion in FY 2009. By comparison, the lunch program's total cost in 1947 was $70 million; in 1950, $119.7 million; in 1960, $225.8 million; in 1970, $565.5 million; in 1980, $3.2 billion; in 1990, $3.7 billion; and in 2000, 6.1 billion.