My health insurance that I have through my employer started a new policy last year. Every member of the family must submit to a medical evaluation of your size. Your height, weight, waist//hip measurements are taken and if you are in the overweight or higher BMI category, or have a poor WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) your family insurance rates go up by $20 a month.
What do you think about that? Would you have to pay more for insurance if your plan started this policy? Has anyone else experienced this?
Below is a description of the WHR.
Quote:The World Health Organization (WHO) states that abdominal obesity is defined as a waist–hip ratio above 0.90 for males and above 0.85 for females, or a BMI above 30.0. The National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) states that women with waist–hip ratios of more than 0.8, and men with more than 1.0, are at increased health risk because of their fat distribution.
WHR has been found to be a more efficient predictor of mortality in older people than waist circumference or BMI. If obesity is redefined using WHR instead of BMI, the proportion of people categorized as at risk of heart attack worldwide increases threefold. The body fat percentage is considered to be an even more accurate measure of relative weight. Of these three measurements, only the waist–hip ratio takes account of the differences in body structure. Hence, it is possible for two women to have vastly different body mass indices but the same waist–hip ratio, or to have the same body mass index but vastly different waist–hip ratios.
What about women with huge hips but otherwise tiny and small?
Big hips work because you want your hips much bigger than your waist. The problem is when your apple shaped and the waist is as big, or bigger, than the hips.
Quoting Dinimon:
I don't really know what to think.
What about women with huge hips but otherwise tiny and small?
Nope mine wouldn't. I work very hard to keep all of my measurements in the healthy range.
They did not change the rate for people with a BMI in the underweight range. Unfair,I know.
I don't know what they do if one person is pregnant. I can ask, but no one at work was pregnant so I never heard.
Quoting angevil53:
What about the underweight? They are at risk as well so they should have to pay a higher premium as well.
Well I suppose that is a sneaky way to raise rates, considering a large proportion of our population is considered overweight. Oh, well! If they want to get me a personal trainer and a diet coach, I'll try my best to lose the weight. I think they'd just end up scratching their heads at me though.
I think it's a good idea, overweight people tend to have more health issues so I think they should pay more. This would not effect me or my DH or our kids. Well I haven't done the messurments but my BMI is 22.5 so I think I would be ok
I think my husband's a sociopath
Why inflict this silly cosmetic pain on a baby!?!
- Val99
on Feb. 2, 2013 at 2:47 PM