There's a lot of misinformation floating around here. Or at the very least unsubtlety.
First of all, I'm with Dee almost 100%. I think the US is by far the most fatphobic place I've ever lived. As freakish as things are in Europe these days about fat, my doctor doesn't tell me to lose weight every time I walk in with a cold. Only one doc has suggested weight loss surgery. And no one has made me feel like my health problems are my fault. (For those who don't know me, I have MS and fibromyalgia, which are definitely not weight related, but many US docs preferred making me feel bad about my weight than dealing with difficult diseases. To be fair, the specialists in the US are better to deal with than the UK, for complex reasons.)
I'm totally with Dee about health care--some form of guaranteed health care, whether it's a mixed system like Germany or a national system like the UK, is definitely the sign of a modern society. The US should be ashamed--it's the only first world country without a guarantee of health care.
But I think that because supersized people are rarer in the UK, there are lots of things that are worse here. Even simple things, like hospitals don't often have large enough gowns, which I didn't find in the US at my size, though I'm sure Dee does.
Overall, I don't think any place is up to caring humanely for supersized people, but I'd far rather be someplace with a national health system if I'm unable to work (whether from size or disease progression). So I'd vote for any first world country except the US, even though my favourite specialists are there.
How's that for ambivalent?
14 years
