BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Britain to Pay People to Lose Weight

I definitely agree that kids at school shouldn't have vending machines of soda and candy. They should be provided with ample fresh, nutritious food. The only reason schools started doing this was to get in extra money. They should get that money in other ways. Schools used to be just fine without vending machines. That's what lunch boxes and the cafeteria is for

If the government poured money into bike paths, walking trails, and other fun exercise systems then I think we'd be much better off. Instead they build roads without sidewalks so it's not even safe to walk any more. It's cheaper that way.

I agree with you Stephanie, we should be eating fresh, natural foods. Not sugar-added or fructose-added or so on. If we all ate natural foods in balance and were active I think we'd be OK.

I want to address Diana's other point carefully. I read it before but didn't answer so I could think about it for a while. It's the type of question that is bound to upset someone. Do we as a society have a right to pressure someone into being a different shape? In general I agree that people can be any weight they want to be if they can pay for the consequences. The problem is that most of the obese are poor and *cannot* pay for the consequences. They are on health insurance that the rest of us are subsidizing. Their health issues affect the premiums the rest of us pay. Their large size means nurses are injured moving them, hospital beds break. So hospitals then have to get larger weight beds which we all then pay for in our hospital bills. Airline seats have to get larger and the airlines burn more fuel, which we all pay for. So as a society we are all paying the costs of the people who are obese.

Now if there was a real system where each person on a plane paid for the actual space they took up in a sliding-seat-size system, and paid for the actual fuel they burnt on a weight-ratio (for body and luggage) then that would be perfectly equitable. I think they should do that, so that people who say take no bags get a cheaper ticket than people who stuff 4 bags full of lead bars And if people paid hospital bills based on what they actually used, then that would also be fair.

I've just realized that I made myself seem seriously stuck up by basically "bragging" about not being motivated by large sums of money. This honestly wasn't my intention. No hard feelings, everyone?

No worries, Heather! I can take the money you earn from losing weight, then? heehee

LOL now there's a plan Jilly

There's a bike path near my house which is completely stuck because it's not being funded. There are pieces but they aren't connected. The government is funding all sorts of other projects, but not a project that could get people outside and healthy and active. It's very frustrating.

That would be a pain about the trail. Sometimes communities get people together to make a "save the trail" group. Not that you don't have enough stuff on your plate, but still....

Well this trail has been in the works for like 25 years. I think there are people who are now dead who first worked for it. People keep having these short sighted aims and don't plan for the future. It's a sad fact, but the people who control town finances are often people who happen to have spare time - not necessarily the people who are well suited for it. I.e. the people who are really educated / skilled are usually too busy with "regular jobs" to volunteer or go out for town positions. So the town ends up voting for really inane uses of money ...

hmmm, maybe i should go into town politics....

Oh definitely! I think you'd be a great voice of wisdom!

i do live in a small town. we don't even get mail service to our houses. the chamber of commerce is in an old shack. So this might be a good place to get involved.

I would like to see sidewalks in the downtown area, and baskets of hangning flowers, and maybe an urban path to make it more walkable. Right now you have to walk on the sides of the road, in the muddy, crumbly dusty dirt. And this place is so beautiful, that it could really just use a tiny bit of sprucing up to make the downtown pedestrian friendly and a pleasure to stroll. Get people out of the cars and on their feet in the sunshine and mountain air.

Jilly, that sounds lovely! You know, you don't even need actual concrete sidewalks, which are pretty hard on joints (worse than asphalt). Wouldn't it be great if someone could use something recycled to make nice cushy walking surfaces?

Envision this: process basic household trash (not an engineer here, so bear with me) say, the non-recyclable stuff minus any hazardous stuff by pulverizing it and then adding it to some sort of concrete/asphalt base.

Or heck, take those stupid plastic shopping bags that are everywhere and find a way to make them into walkways! I know, I need to calm down! LOL

Oh, I went to World Market to get a wooden folding chair they had on sale for $12.50 because my yoga dvd has some chair yoga and I don't have regular chairs here, and my ottoman is too squishy. (No dining chairs, either, just tall barstools that I never use!) Anyway, I bought some other stuff and because I spent over $25, I got a free canvas bag--it's huge! It will totally become my favorite now. (I didn't know they were doing this when I went, but the bag is great.)