In a new study conducted by the Mathematica Center for studying disability policy, researcher Jody Schimmel Hyde discusses the growing rates of obesity in applicants for Social Security Disability. She even goes so far as to suggest that a policy could be put in place to treat obesity like food or drug addiction when considering whether to grant SSD funding to applicants. Her statistics show that disability applicants are 40% more likely to be obese than the general population.
What seems to be lacking from the study is consideration of the many factors that can go into obesity, not the least of which is decreased physical activity due to disability. Additionally, while food addiction is certainly a very real issue, it seems highly questionable to compare it to alcohol or drug abuse when considering the granting of federal support.