A woman my wife knows was complaining that she had been trying, and hadn't lost any weight. This was a big problem because her doctor had been trying to get her to lose weight given the fact she was just diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Complaints about money being tight were also included. This all came out while my wife was being offered a large custard and tea with sugar: the woman's twice daily "little indulgence".

When my wife suggested that she would have more success if she cut sugar out of her tea and coffee, and quit making large deserts that she eats throughout the day. She also suggested cutting prepackaged meals down (which the woman's refrigerator was full of). The woman looked at her aghast, and said she "just couldn't" cut out her "little indulgences" and her son (the doctor has expressed concerns over his weight as well) won't eat anything but the prepackaged meals.

Why do we bother to have government programs to help people? This woman says all the right things (she just needs a little more help), goes to all the right health groups (government funded counseling), and seeks out all the right help (government funds for low income people), but at the end of the day won't take any action. Her doctor has told her that if she doesn't clean up her act she will lose limbs and then die, but she STILL won't actually do anything about it.