Posts filed under 'Biggest Loser'
I have often written about the downside of life insurance underwriting of weight issues, but there actually an upside. Back when I was posting weekly about the reality TV shows Fat March and Biggest Loser, while I did point out the health issues that can be caused by obesity, I also provided some very good news when it comes to the prices that a few companies offer on people with weight issues.
Let’s face it. We live in a heavier America than I grew up in. That being a reality drives home the need for affordable life insurance for those who are overweight, even obese, but really don’t have any health issues. Gaining weight doesn’t generally impact your health adversely for some time. It is the years of your body working to accommodate all the extra pounds that eventually takes it’s toll. So, before that happens, or while you’re in the process of getting your weight under control, consider putting life insurance in force.
To kind of put this into context, let’s assume a 50 year old male is looking for $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. No health issues, but his build is 6′, 260#. With most companies that will be approved at a standard rate based on the average build chart. This surprises clients occasionally. Yes, companies have build charts and yes, your build does impact your rate class.
The best rate available for our client is $510 annually with Savings Bank Life. West Coast Life isn’t far behind at $542.50. But what if his weight happens to be 280#? Because you have knocked the back wall out of Savings Bank’s build chart their rate would jump to $735 annually. West Coast Life would still be at $542.50.
This is another one of those times, you guessed it, when you really need to have an independent agent who can shop all of the companies and find out where to accommodate both your budget and those extra pounds. Once you have that coverage in force, work on your weight and let your agent work on acquiring lower rates as you slim down.
Bottom line. Insurance is going to cost you more if you are overweight than the rates you see advertised, but don’t let that stop you from doing the right thing. Get coverage in force and know that your responsibilities are taken care of.
June 19th, 2008
NBC’s weight loss “reality” show Biggest Loser crossed the line this week. I have steadfastly supported the show and the weight loss and have stayed the course in using this as a forum to discuss obesity and the collateral health issues it causes.
When a participant turns the whole thing into a complete game and abandons the intent and integrity of the show by gaining 17 pounds in a week, knowing that he had the votes to stay on the show, he is a loser that turned a good, well intended program into a loser.
I will continue to blog about the issues but I will not support the program any more.
Bottom line. Obesity and the collateral health issues make obtaining life insurance difficult, make life itself difficult, and are a serious subject worthy of a better effort than NBC put forth.
October 25th, 2007
In previous blogs I covered the ABC weight loss reality show Fat March. The mode of operation was to walk 580 miles from Boston to DC. The weight loss was dramatic, but I mentioned in more than one post that it seemed that the single focus exercise and the brutal amount of it was probably not the kind of balanced approach that most trainers would recommend.
With Biggest Loser the process is more well rounded, and the weight loss not nearly as dramatic on a weekly basis, but in the long haul I think we will see overall results that are dramatic and the participants will come away with a better knowledge of physical fitness and how to maintain it.
Having said that, again, the drama and game of the show is not my focus. Obesity carries some very heavy baggage with it in the form of collateral health issues. Losing weight can be what it takes to avoid diabetes, heart disease or cancer. My only goal in following Biggest Loser is to call attention to those health issues and how weight and weight loss impact life insurance rates.
My disclaimer (again). There is an assumption as I provide quotes that there are no underlying health issues. Because insurance companies reward long term weight loss, there will be an assumption that the weight loss has been kept off for more than a year. All life insurance quotes are for $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. I will be using the company that will make the best offer at any given height and weight. All quotes will be yearly premiums.
Blue team
Kae – 27, 5’2, Start 225#, now 178 - Start quote $310.00, no $202.00
Neil – 25, 6’2, Start 421#, now 355 - Start quote $560.00, still $441.00
Nicole, 26, 5’6, Start 279#, now 248 - Start quote $344.00, still $310.00
Ryan, 29, 5’10, Start 374#, now 320 - Start quote $610.00, still $478.00
Red Team
Amy, 28, 5’6, Start 297#, now 265 - Start quote $413.00, still $349.00
Bryan, 29, 6’0, Start 346#, now 304 - Start quote $544.00, still $413.00
David, 31, 6’0, Start 368#, now 323 - Start quote $622.00, still $428.00
Black Team
Bill, 40, 5’8, Start 334#, now 268 - Start quote $912.00, now $640.00
Hollie, 28, 5’7, Start 255#, now 225 - Quote $319.00, still $225.00
Isabeau, 21, 5’8, Start 298#, now 259 - Start quote $344.00, still $300.00
Jez, 24, 5’8, Start 345#, now 295 - Start quote $570.00, still $448.00
Julie, 34, 5’2, Start 218#, now 195 - Start quote $388.00, still $250.00
Throw out the games and the voting off, the drama and the money, and what you have is real people working hard to reclaim their lives. Hopefully those that leave the show early, and some have them have lost significant weight, will see a new lifestyle that will open door to a better future.
Bottom line. Weight loss can happen for anyone who is willing to make the commitment and enlist help in the form of someone to be accountable to. Easy? No. Worth it? How can anyone not know the answer to that is YES?
October 17th, 2007
A lot more weight loss this week. They did it while on vacation in Jamaica. Congratulations to all of them. I can tell you that I’ve certainly never lost weight on a tropical vacation.
Again, the drama and game of the show is not my focus. Obesity carries some very heavy baggage with it in the form of collateral health issues. My only goal in following Biggest Loser is to call attention to those health issues and how weight and weight loss impact life insurance rates.
My disclaimer. There is an assumption as I provide quotes that there are no underlying health issues. Because insurance companies reward long term weight loss, there will be an assumption that the weight loss has been kept off for more than a year. All life insurance quotes are for $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. I will be using the company that will make the best offer at any given height and weight. All quotes will be yearly premiums.
Blue team
Kae – 27, 5’2, Start 225#, now 184 - Start quote $310.00, still $225.00
Neil – 25, 6’2, Start 421#, now 365 - Start quote $560.00, still $441.00
Nicole, 26, 5’6, Start 279#, now 252 - Start quote $344.00, still $310.00
Ryan, 29, 5’10, Start 374#, now 331 - Start quote $610.00, now $478.00
Red Team
Amy, 28, 5’6, Start 297#, now 268 - Start quote $413.00, now $349.00
Bryan, 29, 6’0, Start 346#, now 308 - Start quote $544.00, now $413.00
David, 31, 6’0, Start 368#, now 328 - Start quote $622.00, now $428.00
Phil, 27, 6’5, Start 403#, now 346 - Start quote $513.00, still $318.00
Black Team
Bill, 40, 5’8, Start 334#, now 279 - Start quote $912.00, still $675.00
Hollie, 28, 5’7, Start 255#, now 228 - Quote $319.00, still $225.00
Isabeau, 21, 5’8, Start 298#, now 264 - Start quote $344.00, still $300.00
Jez, 24, 5’8, Start 345#, now 302 - Start quote $570.00, still $448.00
Julie, 34, 5’2, Start 218#, now 199 - Start quote $388.00, still $250.00
Bottom line. As these people lose weight, they are regaining control of their lives and their futures. Those who succeed will have won the battle with more than weight, but lowered their risk of having diabetes, cancer and heart disease just to name a few of the obesity associated risks.
October 10th, 2007
After episode 3’s relatively low weight loss, except for the red team, weight starting falliing off again. Again, my goal with this blog is not to talk about the drama of the game, but rather the health and life insurance aspects of weight loss. With each weigh in I recompute life insurance quotes based on the new weights.
It is important to note that a person can have a fairly substantial weight loss and not gain any ground on insurance rates. This is because of the spread between rate classes according to the build charts. That happened to several this week. I suspect that next week they will jump to a better rate class as several were very close.
My disclaimer. There is an assumption as I provide quotes that there are no underlying health issues. Because insurance companies reward long term weight loss, there will be an assumption that the weight loss has been kept off for more than a year. All life insurance quotes are for $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. I will be using the company that will make the best offer at any given height and weight. All quotes will be yearly premiums.
Blue team
Kae – 27, 5’2, Start 225#, now 191 - Start quote $310.00, still $225.00
Neil – 25, 6’2, Start 421#, now 375 - Start quote $560.00, still $441.00
Nicole, 26, 5’6, Start 279#, now 258 - Start quote $344.00, still $310.00
Ryan, 29, 5’10, Start 374#, now 341 - Start quote $610.00, still $544.00
Red Team
Amy, 28, 5’6, Start 297#, now 278 - Start quote $413.00, still $413.00
Bryan, 29, 6’0, Start 346#, now 319 - Start quote $544.00, still $430.00
David, 31, 6’0, Start 368#, now 337 - Start quote $622.00, still $580.00
Phil, 27, 6’5, Start 403#, now 358 - Start quote $513.00, now $318.00
Black Team
Bill, 40, 5’8, Start 334#, now 285 - Start quote $912.00, now $675.00
Hollie, 28, 5’7, Start 255#, now 236 - Quote $319.00, still $225.00
Isabeau, 21, 5’8, Start 298#, now 272 - Start quote $344.00, now $300.00
Jez, 24, 5’8, Start 345#, now 308 - Start quote $570.00, now $448.00
Jim, 40, 5’7, Start 361#, now 314 - Start quote $1148.00, now $911.00
Julie, 34, 5’2, Start 218#, now 205 - Start quote $388.00, now $250.00
I mentioned a few posts ago that I had an email from the show’s medical director sharing my frustration that this cash cow of a show can’t spare a few minutes each episode to discuss the collateral health issues of obesity. Dr Kern is doing the job she is directed to do, but clearly not the job she would like to be doing from an education standpoint.
Bottom line. Dropping those pounds makes a difference in life insurance rates, but more importantly, with each weight loss, comes a better chance at living a longer, healthier life.
October 9th, 2007
Yes, I know I’m a week behind on tracking the Biggest Loser stats, and I promise to have all the new numbers posted before tomorrow’s show.
I have been attempting to reach someone connected to the NBC Biggest Loser reality weight loss show concerning their lack of medical information related to obesity. I’ve been hitting a brick wall each time I suggest that it’s a real shame to waste the opportunity to reach millions with relevant information about obesity and it’s sidekicks, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.
I worked hard to avoid sounding greedy. I suggested that 5 minutes on each two hour show to allow their medical specialist, Dr Jen Kerns, was simply not too much. If it happened to be the message that hit home for someone and changed another life, saved another life, it should be done.
I emailed Dr Kerns with that plea and at least I got a response. Not what I wanted to hear, but “Ed, wish I had creative control over the show — you’re preaching to the choir!!!”. At least I’m not alone in believing that reality TV could look beyond the obvious and offer an occasional educational moment.
Bottom line. The impact of obesity on lives and life insurance premiums is, well, huge. The more we can do to make people understand that it isn’t just the extra pounds you carry around that are the problem, but the damage…..and death that those extra pounds can cause, the more productive our impact will be.
October 8th, 2007
I attempted to share some of my thoughts on obesity and health issues, and how NBC was in a unique position to speak to the problem with their huge audience for semi-reality show Biggest Loser.
I attempted to comment on Ali’s blog. Alison Sweeny is apparently a very popular soap star from daytime TV. She started what I read as a pretty heartfelt blog about the show and the participants and weight loss. This was followed by a long string of very deep comments how how beautiful she is, wishing her a happy birthday, and from one 14 year old who had been a fan since he was age 4. You let your 4 year old watch soaps??
I suggested in a comment to Ms Sweeny that she might use her influence on the show to see if they would consider 5 minutes per episode to an earnest discussion of the devastating health impacts of obesity. I offered my last post as an example of the type of conversation that could be kickstarted through such a popular show. That comment never made it past the comment gestapo.
I had commented on Dr Jen’s blog a week or so ago about how great I thought it was that they were having a health professional answer obesity related questions. I suggested that she take the opportunity to take the subjects beyond what to do with the excess skin after weight loss and address some of the deadly consequences of not dealing with weight loss, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. I looked today and can’t find my comment.
I went to the Biggest Loser comment boards today in an attempt to find somewhere to comment and was greeted with the following:
“The error returned was:
Sorry, you do not have permission to reply to that topic”
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that they don’t want anyone suggesting that there is any focus here other than their little contest. This country is swimming in obesity and rather than take a few minutes to address the downside of that issue, they want to use the whole program, every single minute, to ensure drama driven advertising dollars.
Bottom line. NBC’s Biggest Loser has the potential to be everything they want and have a dramatic impact on obesity education. They are missing, no, ignoring, an opportunity to make a huge difference in the health of this nation. So far, NBC is winning the program. They are the Biggest Loser.
Will I continue the posts on my blog about the impact of obesity on health and life insurance? Of course, someone needs to talk about the issues.
September 23rd, 2007
In writing an article on gestational diabetes for our new website that will go live this coming week, I was discussing risk factors and up pops obesity……again. It seems that almost without fail, no matter what the health issue, obesity either helps cause it or exacerbates the problem.
- Obesity is a major contributing factor in type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.
- Obesity is a major contributing factor in heart disease.
- Obesity is a major contributing factor in strokes.
- Obesity is a contributing factor in several kinds of cancer such as colon, breast, uterine, kidney and esophagus. Some studies also show a link to gallbladder, ovarian and pancreatic cancer.
- Obesity is a major factor in high blood pressure, hypertension.
- Obesity is a major factor in dyslipidemia, elevated cholesterol and triglyicerides.
-
Obesity is a major factor in sleep apnea.
Are you starting to understand why I have been following weight loss reality shows in an effort to get the word out? Are you getting a sense that this is a passionate issue for me? Every one of those 7 is a major health issue. Every one of those 7 can shorten or end your life, leaving a family without a husband or wife, mom or dad. Every one of those 7 can make it harder, if not impossible, to get life insurance to protect your family.
Bottom line. Obesity isn’t the warning siren before the tornado. It is the tornado. The collateral damage it can cause is unfathomable if left unchecked. Reality shows like Biggest Loser aren’t about losing weight to lose money, but rather showing that losing weight and taking control of your life and future is possible. You don’t have to have a state of the art gym and a trainer, you just need to decide that the list above is worth avoiding.
September 22nd, 2007
A comment from Katie on my first Biggest Loser post asked, “what would be the rate the trainers would pay? so what is the difference between a trainer and a contestant’s payment, when both are the same height?”
I responded, ” Katie, Since I don’t know the trainers ages, what I can do is post the best attainable rate for each of the participants assuming they met the weight requirement for the best rate class. Great question and I would be glad to add the trainers if I knew their ages and actual weights.”
I think the meat of the question was what kind of rates could a person get if they were fit enough to obtain the best rates. Using the participants still on the show, those rates would be as follows for $250,000 of 20 year term. In parentheses, the weight they would have to be at.
Blue Team
Jerry, $1702.00 (201#)
Kae, $135.00 (153#)
Neil, $145.00 ((216#)
Nicole, $135.00 (166#)
Patty, $135.00 (182#)
Ryan, $147.00 (193#)
Red Team
Amy, $135.00 (170#)
Bryan, $147.00 (205#)
David, $147.00 (205#)
Phil, $145.00 (233#)
Black Team
Bill, $202.00 (182#)
Jim, $202.00 (176#)
Hollie, $135.00 ((176#)
Isabeau, $135.00 (182#)
Jez, $145.00 (182#)
Julie, $135.00 (153#)
Again, these rates are assuming no health issues and qualifying for the best rates based on weight. I would be glad to throw the trainers into the mix as well, but unless someone can supply me with ages, height and weight, I can’t provide that information.
Bottom line. All life insurance companies use build charts, which by the way, are no where near as abusive as BMI charts. You don’t have to be Superman or Superwoman to qualify for the best rates. At 5′10, 177, I am considered overweight on a BMI chart and still have as much as 25#’s to spare to qualify for the best rate class with at least one of the top companies.
September 21st, 2007
As discussed in my first post for Biggest Loser, NBC’s reality weight loss show, from a life insurance perspective, there is more to the picture than just weight. Life insurance rates are based on mortality assumptions, how long a person might expect to live. The problem with obesity is that it can lead to a host of collateral health issues .
I would also like to add that the Biggest Loser website has a blog done by Dr Jen Kerns. Dr Kerns will be answering health questions related to weight loss and I highly recommend that you follow her posts.
There is an assumption as I provide quotes that there are no underlying health issues. Because insurance companies reward long term weight loss, there will be an assumption that the weight loss has been kept off for more than a year. All life insurance quotes are for $250,000 of 20 year term. I will be using the company that will make the best offer at any given height and weight. All quotes will be yearly premiums.
The show started with 18 participants and is down to 16. Below is a list of their height and weight at the beginning of the show, their weight at the end of the second episode, the best price available for the life insurance when they started and the best price currently.
Jerry – 62, 5’11, Start 297#, now 256 - Start quote $3681.00, now $2412.00
Kae – 27, 5’2, Start 225#, now 200 - Start quote $310.00, now $225.00
Neil – 25, 6’2, Start 421#, now 389 - Start quote $560.00, now $441.00
Nicole, 26, 5’6, Start 279#, now 265 - Start quote $344.00, now $310.00
Patty, 34, 5’8, Start 280#, now 265 - Start quote $449.00, now $388.00
Ryan, 29, 5’10, Start 374#, now 349 - Start quote $610.00, now$544.00
Red Team
Amy, 28, 5’6, Start 297#, now 285 - Start quote $413.00, still $413.00
Bryan, 29, 6’0, Start 346#, now 325 - Start quote $544.00, now $430.00
David, 31, 6’0, Start 368#, now 344 - Start quote $622.00, now $580.00
Phil, 27, 6’5, Start 403#, now 372 - Start quote $513.00, now $453.00
Black Team
Bill, 40, 5’8, Start 334#, now 301 - Start quote $912.00, now $794.00
Hollie, 28, 5’7, Start 255#, now 242 - Quote $319.00, now $225.00
Isabeau, 21, 5’8, Start 298#, now285 - Start quote $344.00, still $344.00
Jez, 24, 5’8, Start 345#, now 320 - Start quote $570.00, now $520.00
Jim, 40, 5’7, Start 361#, now 334 - Start quote $1148.00, now $1078.00
Julie, 34, 5’2, Start 218#, now 213 - Start quote $388.00, still $388.00
Some dramatic changes in weight and rates, and more importantly how the participants feel and feel about themselves.
Some of the rate changes may seem exceptionally large in comparison to the weight loss and that will occur when a person reaches a build that moves them from one company to another based on build charts. Also keep in mind that not all weight loss will result in an immediate rate decrease. Build charts can span as much as 20-30 pounds per rate class.
Bottom line. Doing something about the excess weight is doing something about recapturing life and longevity. Obesity carries too many chances for collateral health issues.
September 19th, 2007
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