If you're overweight in Britain, cheer up!

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You know, Lisa, our government are amazing with the schemes they think up. I think they will do one soon for criminals. If you don't do a crime they will pay you! They do it for education too. To encourage children to go to college or 6thform the goverment pay them to go. It can be useful. But it only affects the lowest paid PARENTS! if the parents earn to much the children don't qualify!

Actually there was also a news report that said they were going to pay kids - in Atlanta I think - for going to study hall and studying for school!!

I don't think you should pay a person to lose weight because it penalizes the ones who lost weight already on their own, they now have a financial incentive to GAIN weight to then be paid to lose it again.

Instead, they should pour that money into systems so people CAN lose weight. Fund research for low sugar, tasty foods. Fund bike paths and walking paths. Outlaw vending machines in schools but then fund the schools better so they have the same income to pay their bills. That sort of thing.

The report said that the primary 3 things people in England did was sleep, go to work (sedentary) and watch TV. So if all these people are just watching TV, maybe they need more fun things to do in their area that are active ... maybe fund more dances? Fund more festivals?

I want to get paid to lose weight, lol

That would be great, Rosie, if a person is motivated by money, which most people are. But some people, me for example, are not motivated by it. In my opinion, I think paying people for things they should do anyway seems pointless. It seems juvenile that people won't do some things without being proded and bribed, but it seems that most adults today are simply over-grown children.

Now you made me feel bad Heather ;o( no just joking i don't get paid for any thing i do, i get rewarded by the health benefits of losing weight. thats my payment

My apologies if I did make you feel bad, Rosie. My comment wasn't directed towards you. I was stating that I feel there are too many people in the world who won't step up and take responsibility for themselves without having something dangled in front of them as they go along.

For example: I have heard of many men who will not pay child support unless they are threatened with legal action. After court, they have to pay or go to prison. Shouldn't they want to provide for their child instead of being forced to do so? Shouldn't their child's wellfare be enough incentive?

Bribing has never worked for me. A person could say they would give me $1 million and it honestly wouldn't motivate me. This is probably because I live in my own head too much and money doesn't hold much importance in there. As a matter of fact, it seems to cause more harm than good. I've gotten myself into trouble with credit cards and overspending and I've tried to distance myself from large spending.

O.K I can stop crying now. ;o( (just kidding)

I hear what your saying, i'm just now getting child support and my oldest child is 41 years old.

I am really sorry to hear that, Rosie.

I would like to get paid to lose weight too! but i agree with what Lisa is saying, some people would abuse the system.

I didn't get my child support until I graduated high school (age 18.5) and didn't see a dime of it unfortunately. I was owed like over 80K but they settled with him for like 30K and that went all to the state since I received a small ($104) stipend a month and medical card from the time I was 12 until I graduated high school.

I agree... paying some people is a way to get things done but the people like me who lost 150 pounds because it was the right thing to do don't get anythign ;0)

I definitely think if for example they built a gorgeous walking path with benches and flowers that would be something that both healthy people *and* people who needed to lose weight would benefit from ...

yes, i agree. but i just don't see that happening. Governments don't think that way. they figure they have a parks/path/beautification fund which is not to be crossed with the health/obesity/education fund. You know and I know that's a good idea, but i still don't see them thinking in terms of long term incentives like that or even connecting the two.

But we can still dream about it...so, yeah, cobblestone paths lined with flowering trees and spring bulbs, recycled content benches and sheltered pavilions, water features and natural landscaping that attracts birds and butterflies. I'd use it.

I personally love the idea of being paid to lose weight as I feel that this is a career move I could definitely succeed in.

All kidding aside, I think that the government ought to mandate a law stating that all new television must be powered by either a treadmill or bicycle. This would surely be a win-win situation when you consider how much TV is watched by the average American. Actual reading would make a HUGE comeback - also a good thing.

As well, when commercials come on, we'd have the relief of not having to sit through them and also enjoy a bit of a rest and perhaps a sip of water or two.

Who's with me?

Oh now there is a brilliant idea!! I like that one a lot Plus it would save in electricity costs!

i love this idea! Actually, our treadmill may as well be powering our TV, since one of us is usually working out while we watch.

I agree with those of you who think we should not be paying people to lose weight or any other thing that a person could do if they wanted to but don't. It doesn't seem that obese people are hurting other people by being obese; they are hurting themselves. As long as they have the facilities, food choices, counseling and education that make weight loss possible, that should be sufficient. If we start in this direction, who knows where it would lead and whose idea of how we should live we would be paying people for? It's scary!

There has been an issue in our county about vending machines in public schools. The products have been replaced with only nutritional products. Some people are unhappy about this because they feel students should have the right to make choices about what they eat. Not everyone needs to diet and some would like an occasional treat now and then. So where do you draw the line? I'd like to see healthful choices in vending machines but not to the exclusion of all other choices.

I would let kids buy junk at the stores and bring them along if they want that. But at school i would like to think that only healthy choices are offered. That said, there are tons of healthy snacks that are also sweet and yummy. it doesn't all have to be oranges, applesauce, granola bars and yogurt.

One problem with "healthy choices" is that no one really agrees on what is healthy. I believe low fat and fat free things are many times very unhealthy. I think anything with sugar is a killer, anything with high fructose corn syrup, and anything with fake artificial ingredients are a killer. But everyone doesn't agree. So, who should decide? The person, the individual.

To the question though: NO I don't think anyone should be paid by the government to lose weight. However I do support government supported insurance programs that cover medically needed weight loss assistance.

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.)

That's a great bonus Deb - what a wonderful deal!

I definitely agree that sometimes just small changes in a landscape can make a huge difference in how people use it. I'd definitely put that on your long term list once you settle in

Deb, those are GREAT ideas! I will have to remember this discussion if i ever do join any town committees.

Oh, and Deb, feel free to let your imagination run wild - this is a fun conversation.

Jill - I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but maybe in a few months when you're all settled in, you can check in with the local town hall or chamber of commerce and see how things are run. They might have open positions for you to help in very artistic ways, doing things that you can see immediate results with and get happy feedback from the whole town. That could be *very* cool

I know here in my town that there are groups that for example do things with the town green, and with the park along the river and so on. So they get a budget and everything and are able to beautify our town.