Tackling Obesity: My Idea

Please share this to see what other people think about my ideas to tackle obesity.

As most people are aware, obesity is a problem that is in most countries across the globe at the moment, with the UK and the USA holding one of the highest obesity levels in the entire world. Throughout the last few years, ways in which the “obesity crisis” can be reversed have been discussed, but nothing has worked so far. This article will discuss my ideas about how things can be changed, any why certain ideas aren’t going to work.

Fat Tax. A charge has been discussed in government over recent years whereby food that contains more fat should cost more money to the customer. I don’t think that this is a good idea. It means that the government will be getting more money, but people won’t stop buying it. Just like people don’t stop smoking because the prices on cigarrettes are so high. Instead, healthier foods should be made cheaper and more accessible. Supermarkets already do healthy salads and fruit based desserts; however the price of these are much more than an equivalent unhealthy option, so people are more likely to opt for that. If healthier foods are made cheaper and more easily accessed, people are more likely to buy it.Make healthy food more available while eating out. In most places, the only thing that you’ll be able to order on a menu that’s even remotely healthy is a plain salad. Sometimes, there will even be dressing on this meaning that there are more calories and fat than you might actually think. There needs to be more vegetable option, without fattening sauces, such as fish and steamed vegetables. At the place where my friends eat out most, the least calorific dish you can get contains 700 calories, and the best dessert you can get contains the same. This is completely ridiculous, and should be changed so that people can eat out without having to worry about what they’re eating.More affordable exercise. Having a quick look at how much gym membership costs, it’s clear that it costs at least £30 for a full gym, which a lot of people just cannot afford. In addition to this, places like swimming pools now charge around £3 for a swim, which is a lot if you want to start going a couple of times each week. If something is put into place to mean that people could swim for perhaps £1, or attend a gym for £1 a session, whenever they wanted to go, I feel that a lot more people would choose to exercise.Better walking paths. To get to most places that you wish to travel to, a bus ride or a train ride is needed. I take a bus regularly to a place that would only be a one hour walk away; as there is no safe path to walk down. If more places were made safe for pedestrians, perhaps more people would walk.Cycle Hire. This is a scheme that is already available in several cities at the moment, and is one that I think should be put into practice in a lot more places. Cycles should be able to be hired for specific centres across the country, and you should have to leave some kind of deposit so that you would take them back later in the day. This could be good for people who have a small commute to work, and would save them a lot of money in the long term as well as getting them fitter at the same time.Education about a healthy life. This should start as early as when we are at school. People need to understand how our bodies use food, how we can work out what foods we need, and what might happen to us if our bodies have too much food. There is no need to scare people about what might happen; simple and straight facts would be absolutely fine.Medical support. By the time people see their doctor about their weight, which is usually when they are morbidly obese, it is too late. Instead, people should see their doctor once per year and have their weight and height measured so that they know exactly how healthy they are, and how much weight they should be looking to lose. Many people aren’t even aware that they’re overweight, and this kind of support might be incredibly helpful.