Being fat is no picnic, but the fact that fatness costs extra money adds insult to injury …
Being fat isn't the end of the world, but it isn't a picnic, either.
I've struggled with weight for the majority of my life, so the costs — physical, emotional, and financial — aren't new to me.
Thankfully, I'm finally on the way to losing some weight, after hitting my highest weight ever.
(Follow my weight loss journey over at Deflabbify.com!)
20+ ways that being fat costs money
Here's a big list of ways that being fat can cost you money.
Your food budget is higher
Not surprisingly, if you eat more food, you pay more money. Eating too much made me fat, and staying fat means I need more food. It's a vicious physical and fiscal cycle.
Your clothes are more expensive
Shirts in size 2XL and 3XL (and above) are more expensive than sizes XL and below.
Pretty much across the board, sizes up to extra large (XL) are one price, and extra extra large (2XL) and bigger are $1 to $3 more. Not just shirts, but also suits and jackets. Some guys are just plain big all over, but I started needing the 2XL and 3XL shirts to cover the bottom part of my belly. I get the extra cost; more fabric costs more money.
Driving costs more
An extra 100 pounds can cost me up to 2% on my gas mileage.
It takes more energy (gasoline) to move a vehicle plus a fat person than it does to move the same vehicle and a skinny person. This is physics.
Fat people use more soap
Forwarding funny lists through e-mail is kind of last-century, but I remember one in particular included the line: “All other things being equal, fat people use more soap.”
More surface area means more soap is needed to keep one clean, and that costs more.
(That by itself isn't enough to work me up into a lather, though.)
Life insurance premiums are higher
Obesity is one factor that contributes to placement in a higher-risk group, which translates to higher premiums. Fat people tend to die earlier from all kinds of ailments, so the insurance company needs to increase premiums to keep these customers profitable.
Health insurance premiums are higher
Group policies may not take this into account, but individual policies certainly do. Overweight people tend to have more health problems than those with normal weight, so health insurance companies need to charge more to compensate for the extra risk they're bearing.
A saving grace — get it?! saving? haha — for a lot of chunky people is that they benefit from group insurance rates. The prices are applied uniformly to a particular group of people based on age and gender, but not anything else.
Health care costs more
Various (and numerous) illnesses are linked to obesity, so fat people tend to have more illnesses and conditions than those with normal weight. More visits to the doctor, and more treatments.
Employers may charge fat people more
Some employers are beginning to dock the paychecks of fat employees. Unlike race, gender, religious affiliation, national origin, etc., weight is not a protected class, and being fat can cost you.
Employers may not promote you, or could even fire you, depending on where you live
Employers have a bias against fat people, and in some places, it's perfectly legal to fire someone because they're fat. Again, weight doesn't carry the same protections as race, gender, age, etc.
Being fat contributes to taxes on productivity and time
These taxes chip away at earning power and efficiency. It takes longer to walk places and get dressed in the morning. Fat people tend not to sleep well, which kills productivity.
Fat people often need sturdier things
Sturdier chairs. Sturdier beds. Sturdier stools, toilets, floors. Because you never know when these will fail due to your extra mass. (I've collapsed a folding chair and a piano bench just by sitting on them. Not fun!)
Fat people often need bigger things
Not just bigger clothes, but more pricey things like bigger bathtubs, bigger shower stalls, and bigger vehicles.
Things wear out faster
More weight means more stress, strain, and friction on the critical joints and moving parts. Buying sturdier things helps (see above) but I can't think of anything that benefits from being abused more.
Airlines can charge obese people for two seats
Now there's a monster extra baggage fee. And they don't even have to make the trip more comfortable for you! They sometimes separate your two seats, apparently just to prove to you how little they want your fat rear end on their planes.
Paying more people to do things
Like roof work. Or going up into your attic because the weight limit on the attic ladder is 250 pounds.
More medicine costs more
To combat all of the side effects of being fat, or even just enough to get you over the hump, should you be one of the five percent that can lose a mere 10% of their body weight, and keep it off.
Not just bigger clothes, but more clothes
Every time we go up (or down) in weight, our old clothes don't fit us anymore. That means more money.
Trying one thing after another to lose weight
People trying to lose weight will try just about anything. One after another. Without realizing that the common thread — the whole secret — to all of them working is burning more energy than you take in.
Low self-esteem can cost money
There's an emotional toll, serious or otherwise, on being fat. With regard to money, having a lower opinion of yourself will not make you a stronger bargainer or a savvier shopper. You'll be doubting and second-guessing yourself a little — or a lot — more than a fit person.
Really no kidding priced out of health insurance
Being fat was bad for your health insurance premiums now. But now it's downright ugly. Insurance companies may have to take you now, but they sure as shootin' don't have to offer it at a price that any mortal human being can pay.
Even coffins costs more
The final insult to injury. A fat person's heirs might even be charged more for a cremation! When we had our dog euthanized, we saw the cremation charges. They were based on weight. I guess that makes sense. Just like it takes longer to cook a bigger Thanksgiving turkey, it takes longer to get a bigger human entirely up to combustion temperature.
Visit Mighty Bargain Hunter for more articles on recognizing life's good deals!
from Mighty Bargain Hunter https://ift.tt/2IjUMde
0 Comments