Curing obesity... doesn't reduce health care costs

A cornerstone of the new Health Care Reform law (and virtually all Health Care reform proposals) is the assumption that ending bad behavior will reduce overall costs for everyone. It seems intuitive - if treating obesity-triggered diseases is expensive, eliminate obesity. But a new study suggests this is not the case as a longer lifespan offsets any short-term savings.

Of course, we should all be trying to be the best version of ourselves, so no one should take this as an excuse to stop exercising and gorge themselves on sweets. But it is a reminder that we should temper our zeal for policy-making with a humility that admits there will always be unexpected consequences that we can not predict.