I don't know if it is confirmed or not but I just heard on the radio that a 15 year old boy from Somerset county (in New Jersey) died on June 8th, the test came back today that it was swine flu.

You claimed "extreme obesity" is a cause for respiratory problems.

Violet_yoshi, I was in the middle of preparing a detailed response to you when my doorbell rang.  It was a man from the Congo who came to this country 5 years ago seeking asylum, whose application has been refused and has been destitute by this government.  He has no money, no means of feeding himself and nowhere to live.  I invited him in, gave him something to eat and drink and have given him money so he can get to Nottingham where he has a friend he can stay with while his lawyer pleads his case to remain the UK.

I am soooo angry just now about the way this government treats people.  And my planned response to your post has paled into insignificance for me.

Edit:  has been made destitute by this government.  Government policy is to throw people onto the streets, refuse them any means of support and they would refuse them healthcare as well if it weren't for the fact that doctors continue to care for people.

I am just thankful that this government is not run by the BNP ......Then I would actually fear for this poor man.

But you are right this governemnt treats it's public like crap when it should care for them.

Politicians = Scum IMO

Too bad he didn't come to Canada first.

It's better in Canada then?  I only know how it works, or rather doesn't, in the UK.

A lot of these people don't know where they're going to end up when they flee their own countries.  A friend of mine was people smuggled out of Eritrea with her three children.  Her uncle paid for them to be able to leave, but she didn't know where she was going.  She ended up in England, and was then sent to Scotland, as the man, Ben, I met the other day was, under the dispersal programme.  

She was never granted asylum, despite the fact that people who leave Eritrea and are returned tend to "disappear".  She was fortunate in that because she had children with her she wasn't made destitute like Ben, but there was always the fear of a dawn raid.  I would panic if I sent her a text and she didn't reply within an hour.  I'd worry that they'd been taken from their beds and taken to a detention centre then deported.

After more than 5 years in the UK she finally got "indefinate leave to remain".  Others from the same country, who arrived after her, got their "papers" within a matter of weeks or months.  There is no logic in the system, far less compassion.

2 reported deaths in Australia. 1 endigionous man aged 26 with an array of healh problems, and 1 white man with obesety and diabities.

Yes, it does seem that the people who are dying are those with existing serious health problems.  People who would be vulnerable to any kind of infection, I suppose.

One of the Sunday papers in Scotland was trying to whip up some kind of panic and had interviewed a mother who was saying that parents were panicking because the schools weren't closing if they had pupils who were infected.

I haven't seen any signs of panic at my son's school, and the last letter home, which I only skim read, said that as swine flu was now prevalent within the general population there was nothing to be gained by closing schools.  The summer holidays start on Friday anyway.

Can't wait till the news starts in with "Obesity means a higher risk of contracting Swine Flu!" that's if they already haven't. Cause you know, being fat, means your just as vulnerable to disease as the boy in the bubble.

Not just fat, I believe, but morbid obesity, which is a known factor in increasing a person's chance of contracting a number of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, arthitic problems as joints wear out, etc.  Morbid obesity is a whole different kettle of fish to just carrying a little extra weight or being pleasingly plump.  
Alison

I think it's a false assumption that morbid obesity is a known factor in increasing a person's chance of contracting a number of diseases. I think it's more a combination of common circumstances. High animal fat & high carb diet, lot's of fried and grilled food, stress from the social anxiety brought on by being persecuted for being obese. Depression from constantly being told they're weak-willed and irresponsible losers. Resulting in sitting around at home a lot, putting on more weight.

Me - I qualify as morbidly obese. Yet my diet is primarily pescetarian. I bake and/or steam my food - eat it raw even. The fats I consume come from fish, olives, avocados, nuts & seeds. I get my carbs from fruits and vegetables. I don't drink alcohol, or consume anything with corn syrup of any kind in it. I don't allow myself to be persecuted and I don't hang with anyone who'd try to bring me down. I exercise, though not as much as I should.  

As a result nurses always have to take my blood pressure twice the first time because it's quite alright and that doesn't match up with the 'morbidly obese people are in horrible health' meme. My heart's in good shape. I don't have a cholesterol problem. I have arthritis in my right knee, but it's due in part to an old injury and the fact I'm not so young anymore at 42. Yeah, I have a touch of insulin resistance, but that's managed, my A1C always checks out, and my sugars have never been out of control. I rarely get sick.

So.

Very well said!

Wow, you're lucky.  I'm not obese, morbidly or otherwise, yet I'm in far worse shape, health-wise, due to a genetic autoimmune defect.    
Alison