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What new or revised public policy/law would make it easier for people to maintain a healthy weight?
Replies
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FireOpalCO wrote: »Single payer healthcare, including nurse visits and dietitians.
32 hour workweek.
Investment in mass transit systems over highways
Longer school day with mandatory % of time in recess/PE/sports
Tax breaks for companies that buy desk bikes/treadmills, provide a cafeteria, or pay for gym memberships or onsite doctor visits, transit cards, bike racks, etc.
Increase the percentage of open space, bike trails, etc. in development codes.
Building codes that require open staircases under a certain story height? (People are more likely to use the stairs if they are big and visible vs. hidden behind a door looking like they're for emergencies only.)
To add to this (because it's more or less what I was thinking), better bike infrastructure (this, for me, goes beyond "bike trails") and an overhaul on school lunch programs.
Tax breaks for bike commuting. For people who are putting less wear and tear on the roads, and not using up parking spaces - which people get into knife fights over.12 -
I'd like to be able to use HSA money for durable exercise equipment.
You should have to use it some reasonable amount for it to qualify. Ideally the way that would work is you'd sync some kind of app with your doctor's system. I say that from the perspective that your doctor is an expert whose job it is to help you, and knowing patient's exercise habits can help the doctor find the best plan for a lot of things, including depression.8 -
anthocyanina wrote: »Some of you pointed out that there are many more people with access to good food who choose to eat junk than people without access, and you are absolutely right.
However I would still start with food justice for all before targeting fast-food eating, sedentary office workers.
One interesting approach is employer-driven programs. Both employer and employees benefit when workers are given the opportunity to become healthier.
One place I worked at offered extra-long breaks to employees who went outside to take a walk at break time, distributed maps with 1/4 and 1/2 mile walking loops in the neighborhood, and tallied the office's progress "across the country". I gave a series of mini cooking demos/nutrition classes to my co-workers there as well.
Another place stocked the breakroom with healthful snacks and periodically brought in local farmers for a mini farmers' market onsite to help reduce the effort it took for employees who work long hours to access healthful food.
Still another offered a significant discount on employee contributions to health insurance for those who complete regular wellness checks and provided programs free of charge to help employees whose wellness checks show problem areas get back on track health-wise.
You can probably guess that there were still some people unwilling to take the small steps toward better health that their employers laid out, but there were also those who appreciated and took advantage of the chances they were offered, and others still who were inspired by the opportunities and went on to do even more for themselves.
The research shows effectiveness of employee programs is very questionable.6 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I'd like to be able to use HSA money for durable exercise equipment.
You should have to use it some reasonable amount for it to qualify. Ideally the way that would work is you'd sync some kind of app with your doctor's system. I say that from the perspective that your doctor is an expert whose job it is to help you, and knowing patient's exercise habits can help the doctor find the best plan for a lot of things, including depression.
I think it would be awesome to be able to use HSA funds for exercise equipment! We had a horribly cold winter and I had to stop my walks. I looked into a treadmill but didn't have extra funds to buy one. It would have been great if I could have used our HSA to buy one.3 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I'd like to be able to use HSA money for durable exercise equipment.
You should have to use it some reasonable amount for it to qualify. Ideally the way that would work is you'd sync some kind of app with your doctor's system. I say that from the perspective that your doctor is an expert whose job it is to help you, and knowing patient's exercise habits can help the doctor find the best plan for a lot of things, including depression.
I think it would be awesome to be able to use HSA funds for exercise equipment! We had a horribly cold winter and I had to stop my walks. I looked into a treadmill but didn't have extra funds to buy one. It would have been great if I could have used our HSA to buy one.
Wouldn't it be nice to buy healthy food before taxes as well... But that's not what the HSA is for, right...3 -
Unless you have some type of disability exercise equipment isn't really necessary to stay or become fit. Using those pieces of exercise equipment is a choice. They might make it easier but you can find other ways.
When I was growing up most of the boys used hay bales to throw around...by the end of the summer they were looking pretty good!5 -
If gov't subsides, in any way, gym memberships, the cost of compliance on the part of gyms will substantially raise the cost of a gym membership.
Silver Sneakers is funded in part by the government, and does not appear to raise, substantially or otherwise, the cost of a gym membership.7 -
Unless you have some type of disability exercise equipment isn't really necessary to stay or become fit. Using those pieces of exercise equipment is a choice. They might make it easier but you can find other ways.
When I was growing up most of the boys used hay bales to throw around...by the end of the summer they were looking pretty good!
We had a bizarre winter this year-between the polar vortex and the bomb cyclones, it's a wonder I'm still alive
Schools had to get exemptions from the state, due to exceeding the allotted amount of allowed snow days. We were under state of emergency for a while, due to temperatures/wind chills etc. We also had several icing events, which caused havoc (roads shut down, massive power outages etc). So, I may be a wimp but I was not interested in walking outside when all of this was going on, a treadmill would have been a nice thing to have. If I had been allowed to use our HSA to buy one I would have done it with no hesitation. 5 -
So, yeah, If the U.S. made morbid obesity illegal on a federal level with a two year mandatory prison sentence with no early release and no probation, that would probably work.
The fare could be good old fashioned bread and water with 8 hours of daily forced labor on a chain gang.
Lemurcat could offer her services and become a defense attorney to help us.
I could definitely lose 120 pounds that way. And it would scare me silly and I'd be careful to stay on the straight and narrow once released and not reoffend.
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Unless you have some type of disability exercise equipment isn't really necessary to stay or become fit. Using those pieces of exercise equipment is a choice. They might make it easier but you can find other ways.
When I was growing up most of the boys used hay bales to throw around...by the end of the summer they were looking pretty good!
Bailing hay is pretty specific and requires land, hay, the need to bail hay, etc. It's far from accessible to most people. I agree that exercise equipment isn't necessary to become fit, but I do think that trying to get fit in ways that aren't enjoyable is futile (and masochistic) unless it's a "I'm doing this so I can be better/more successful at this other thing that I do enjoy". It's hard to do something that you arguably don't need to do if you that doing it. There are a ton of ways to get fit that require equipment of some kind and some of that is very expensive (and very accessible financially).
Sure running requires shoes, but there are plenty of people who just don't enjoy running and others who don't have a disability who can't run for physiological reasons. There are also plenty of people who live in places where running outside near their house/appt isn't safe so it's not a simple "put on shoes and walk outside" endeavor. It's similar to one of the reasons I have a bike trainer. I'm not willing to ride near my house both because it's very very hilly and because it's not especially safe. It's faster for me to get on my bike inside on a trainer than it is to drive to where I do enjoy riding my bike. I prefer riding outside in most weather conditions (sleet is a painful no-go), but time wise it's just not feasible most days.10 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »You sister can most likely pick this up at a school or library close to her town or by writing in for a copy.
Of course she can. She is a college graduate and well informed. However, my original point, is that not everyone would know to ask for that type of information. There is a lot of misinformation and ignorance when it comes to wellbeing, particularly in impoverished areas of our country. A good portion of the population where she lives is well below the poverty level with little to no resources for wellness education. They don't know to ask and don't know any different.8 -
debrakgoogins wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »You sister can most likely pick this up at a school or library close to her town or by writing in for a copy.
Of course she can. She is a college graduate and well informed. However, my original point, is that not everyone would know to ask for that type of information. There is a lot of misinformation and ignorance when it comes to wellbeing, particularly in impoverished areas of our country. A good portion of the population where she lives is well below the poverty level with little to no resources for wellness education. They don't know to ask and don't know any different.
I find it impossible to believe that anyone going through a public school system in America is not exposed to what makes up a healthy diet and that calories are what matters for weight.
Whether or not it sinks in is another story.
I was exposed to this stuff in elementary, middle school and again in high school. It was not only part of a required Health class, but part of daily discussions in Phys Ed and biology.
It's not rocket surgery. Truly. People don't want to believe that they are in control of their weight because then they'd have to be responsible and God forbid. They want to blame someone.22 -
Sooo while I don't quite believe this should be legislated against, it is interesting food for thought, or drink for thought.
Pre high rates of obesity in the west, the primary beverage of choice was coffee or tea. They have done studies on this; the amount of coffee our grandparents drank dwarf what we consume today per person. The rates of coffee consumption decreased with the propagation and popularity of a new social beverage, the soft drink. Conversely, obesity rates started to steadily increase at this time.
I believe this correlation is part causation, but it isn't the whole story. For example, Japan has a far greater breath of varieties of soda, and probably greater access, but they do not have the same issue. In this case, I think the variety really helps. Amusingly, this is slowly happening here, with new smaller brands making more niche seltzer and sodas, with lower calorie options. I believe this will at least partly sort itself out in a few decades with the changing market forces.4 -
No law will help, but will make things monumentally worse.
Removing laws on the other hand would have tremendous benefit over time.14 -
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https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/25/health/sodas-sugary-drinks-policy-statement-study/index.htmlPhysicians' groups have long taken a stand against high consumption of sugary drinks in the United States -- and now they are calling for several policies to limit access to sugar-sweetened beverages among children and teens.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association released policy recommendations on Monday targeted at federal, state and local lawmakers, encouraging them to implement policies that would reduce children's intake of sugary drinks, such as sodas, sports drinks and juice.
Disclaimer: I know it's CNN which some have issues with, and some do not. I'd rather focus on the subject of the article which is in perfect keeping with this thread, rather than the source.
OP, looks like you weren't the only one thinking this over.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »FireOpalCO wrote: »Single payer healthcare, including nurse visits and dietitians.
32 hour workweek.
Investment in mass transit systems over highways
Longer school day with mandatory % of time in recess/PE/sports
Tax breaks for companies that buy desk bikes/treadmills, provide a cafeteria, or pay for gym memberships or onsite doctor visits, transit cards, bike racks, etc.
Increase the percentage of open space, bike trails, etc. in development codes.
Building codes that require open staircases under a certain story height? (People are more likely to use the stairs if they are big and visible vs. hidden behind a door looking like they're for emergencies only.)
To add to this (because it's more or less what I was thinking), better bike infrastructure (this, for me, goes beyond "bike trails") and an overhaul on school lunch programs.
Tax breaks for bike commuting. For people who are putting less wear and tear on the roads, and not using up parking spaces - which people get into knife fights over.
You already get a tax break by not paying motor fuel taxes since not buying gas for bike commutimg.10 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Desire and ability are the primary drivers of obesity. Unless you are going to address these two root causes, then all else is nothing but show and wasted resources.
What laws, objectively and historically, have positively influenced human behavior?
I submit that those rewarding positive behavior tend to be successful, while those punishing desires tend to fail.
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janejellyroll wrote: »
Desire and ability are the primary drivers of obesity. Unless you are going to address these two root causes, then all else is nothing but show and wasted resources.
What laws, objectively and historically, have positively influenced human behavior?
I submit that those rewarding positive behavior tend to be successful, while those punishing desires tend to fail.
I think I misunderstood what you wrote initially. When you said "Removing laws would have tremendous benefit over time" I thought you were referring to specific laws you'd like to see removed in order to address obesity. I think instead you were stating that there would be a general "tremendous benefit" to removing laws?
More generally, if someone's desires are going to cause me harm, I consider it a success if a law makes it less likely they'll choose to fulfill that desire.11 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »
Desire and ability are the primary drivers of obesity. Unless you are going to address these two root causes, then all else is nothing but show and wasted resources.
What laws, objectively and historically, have positively influenced human behavior?
I submit that those rewarding positive behavior tend to be successful, while those punishing desires tend to fail.
I think I misunderstood what you wrote initially. When you said "Removing laws would have tremendous benefit over time" I thought you were referring to specific laws you'd like to see removed in order to address obesity. I think instead you were stating that there would be a general "tremendous benefit" to removing laws?
More generally, if someone's desires are going to cause me harm, I consider it a success if a law makes it less likely they'll choose to fulfill that desire.
Like the 18th Amendment?1
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