Are you ready?

More children could walk to school if they were guaranteed a place at their closest school, but often this is not the case now. Parents are expected to shop around and then arrange to ferry their children to the most suitable school (or the nearest one that will accept them). At secondary level, there are all sorts of academies with different specialities, religious schools, single-sex schools, selective schools, etc, so the nearest suitable school may be many miles away.

Primrose The cost for the health service is balanced by the savings on pensions, and house and road costs etc.

There are plenty of places that already have residential areas that encourage healthy living. All new housing developments have to file a sustainable living report as part of the planning procedure and all new house buyers are provided with bus and train timetables. New estates have cycle paths and footpaths.

But as they say you can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Most children in my village can walk to to the village school, but many parents drop their children off on their way to work - and who can blame them. Bus timetables are all very well, but buses need to run at convenient times on convenient routes for those who would use them. There have to be footpaths beside roads. Bike lanes need to interconnect. Giving people bikes with houses is a nice token thing to do and wins the developer brownie points but unless there is a real infrastructure, not just in the immediate area but for at least 5 miles around

In Oxfordshire the county is reducing bus subsidies so bus routes are being withdrawn.

There's more to it than cinema tickets and Ocado. It's an interesting concept for new towns, housing developers will be asked to provide new homes with free bikes, children will be able to walk to school - it's about planning a town to promote a healthy lifestyle.

If it's all about healthy lifestyles, then why Ocado? With them, you have to park your posterior in front of a PC or tablet and order online. Surely much better to give tokens for some chain that doesn't deliver; even if you choose to drive there, you'll have to walk across the car park, then push the trolley up and down the aisles and, as they say, every little helps!

Jalima both!

How many steps is it to walk to Switzerland?

People don't simply die earlier M0nica. They are on handfuls of tablets every day, see the GP regularly, have blood tests, operations .....

Hospital waiting rooms and outpatients is the place to see obesity and I am talking nursing staff.
I am far from the only one to remark on this.

So is the answer to refuse NHS treatment for lifestyle disease?

Most illnesses are lifestyle related. From birth to death. Having children is a life style choice and living makes death a lifestyle choice.

It could be argued that those who die early from self induced medical complaints are saving the government a fortune in pension payments and reducing the need for new housing and new roads.

I'd rather live a long life, free from disease
I think that everyone would but unfortunately some diseases are hereditary, work-related or due to environmental issues.

kittylester
sweet or salted?

BlueBelle that is the right word - bribery.

If I manage 12,500 steps in a week might I get a cinema ticket? I think I'll deserve one.
Are these to be offered to people who would and could walk this amount anyway daily? Thus discriminating against people who are unable to achieve that due to whatever reason?

What about spending the money on genuine illnesses - perhaps speeding up the wait for knee or hip replacements etc so that people who need these are able to at least become mobile again (if not 12,500 steps per day).

That should read more people in the last paragraph ( but without an edit button hint hint)

No I don't agree at all Primrose while people are spoonfed they ll sit back and let others worry about them
Do you remember when George best was given a new organ only to bugger the second one up with his lifestyle choices do you truely believe cinema tickets will make non walkers walk they might walk to get the tickets or more likely they ll find a way of cheating to get the tickets but will it make them change their lifestyle .... no
We had a great incentive last year in the town, little techno things were put on lampposts and you had to 'sign in' at all the different stops It was done as a competition to encourage kids to collect all these various points as they walked around clicking on the various lampposts so what happened to this great incentive The parents started driving the kids around letting them jump out the car click on and then jump back into the car and other parents took loads of the 'filling in cards' and went from post to post in the car without even the kids being on board
We had the people quitting smoking when they were told they wouldn't get their operation if they were a smoker

The NHS money should be spent on genuine illnesses

There are plenty of reports that lifestyle illness costs the NHS £11 billion every year. Looking at the costs and the obesity map, it really does look like the majority of people don't care about their lifestyle choices to me.
I'm more upset about the £11 billion than I am about cinema tickets - which at £10 a pop is 17 cinema tickets for every person in the UK each year.
I'm hoping that it works, people become healthier and the NHS is under less financial pressure.

We all agree that people should take care of their own health, but many do not. Just look around you - obese people everywhere on the buses, trains, in shops. How can we persuade them to take more care?

In the words of John McEnroe, you must be joking?

Well I certainly do walk at least 12500 steps nearly every day. However, why on earth would I expect anyone to reward me for doing so. I am perfectly well aware (as is everybody else) of what is good and not good for me. I take responsibility for my own health and well being.

Before anybody starts arguing with me - I am also well aware and sympathise with the many people who are unable to exercise. But maybe if all the people who could do it - actually did it - there would be less overweight people to drain our NHS. They shouldn't be bribed or gain financially from it though.

Would we allowed popcorn at the cinema?

It's the cost that bothers me! People should take care of their own health needs. I'm one of those who think that if you get drunk enough to warrant a hospital visit for example then you should pay for that privilege. Mind you I've not thought it through enough to consider how that person will pay!!! But it's the principle. Is it the majority of the population who can't cope with their health or the minority? I can't walk that far at present and so I will be penalised for something that medical professionals hadn't considered. It makes me very cross

I agree with you BlueBelle, people do need to take personal responsibility, but it seems that they don't. What can you do? If you turn healthy living into a game where you win prizes, it might work for some people who are not motivated by health. I'd rather live a long life, free from disease - that's the only motivation I need - others need a push in the right direction.

It makes me hopping mad that they dream up these gifts ideas ( incentstives) to bribe people to be sensible and take care of their health
When I was working for the NHS They were giving gifts to pregnant mums to give up smoking but if having a babe in your belly isn't enough to make you want to protect that baby from your own stupidity then what will ? a blooming trip to the cinema isn't going to make diddly squit difference
People need to take responsibility to take care of their own health needs

...and I bet they all live in cities with street lighting and all facilities within a mile or two of home. Eat out or gather up a quick ready meal on their way home and, as they live in rented property never need to worry about getting DIY materials home form B&Q.

It is very telling, too, that these think tankers are offering 'Ocado' vouchers and not vouchers from Lidl or Aldi.

It just shows how how of touch they are with the majority of the public.