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Eat Right, Earn an iPod
TheMster writes "The BBC is reporting on the UK government's latest policy to tackle obesity - through offering iPods and XBoxes to pupils. The lucky lads and lasses of 29 Glasgow secondary schools will be part of the pioneering scheme, which utilises the newly introduced swipe-card canteens to create a system of the 'better you eat, the bigger the treat'."
But what's an XBox about? Spending endless hours sitting in front of you TV.
Reward the correct behaviour.
Even though an iPod or XBox would be a very nice incentive if I were a kid participating in this program to eat healthy, where does the prizes come from? That kid's parents' taxpayer dollars. As a Libertarian, why should the government have to use the possibility of an iPod in order for them to eat healthy, or, better yet, why should the government even be involved in health issues such as obesity? The rise of obesity is a societal issue and it is best dealt with by society, not government.
In this particular case, if I had a choice, my taxpayer dollars should go toward the replacement of the school's unhealthy food items with healthy food. No bribes necessary; the kids would eat better. Besides, there are plenty of healthy foods; one can snack on fruits instead of chocolate candy bars, for example.
in school cantina, you often do not want to eat stuff that looks like it dropped on the bottom of the food pyramid. Haver you seen what goes there under name of fruit, salad?
...beer. Low alcohol low calory version of it. The dark kidbeer is especialy popular. iPods are not included.
In Limburg, Belgium, they have pilot program trying to swich kids from Cola to
I doubt that we will ever figure out - and I suspect that even if we did figure out we couldn't do much about it
Rmemember,
Eating healthy foods is not just for those who are obese.
I was 6 foot tall and weighed under 8 stone for a long time (into my 20s). Thankfully now I am more stable and have gained a few stone, but I know I'm not the only one.
I too hope it works, and that there aren't any side effects.
Another slight side issue, there is a famous English chef called Jamie Oliver, he has pushed for better school meals (because currently they are utter shite), and it is having major effects up and down the country, and those kids who have changed their school diets also push for better food at home.
I don't think in the majority of cases this will be a problem.
liqbase
The difference between the two groups was high vs. low glycemic index....in other words, one group got carbohydrates that were absorbed fast (think prepared foods, instant oatmeal, etc.) and the other good complex carbohydrates (e.g. steel cut oats). Remember, the absolute composition of the diet was otherwise the same.
The kids that ate the simple sugars ate 500 - 600 more calories a day between meals, since the simple sugars induce a "stress response" and induced the urge to eat prior to the next meal. Those unhealthy snacks prime susceptible kids to eat more, and 500 calories/day in 7 days (3500 cal) is another pound of fat.
In Australia, they have the glycemic index on food labels. Our kids could benefit from that here.
my mom fed me brocolli when i was a baby. Its one of my favorite vegetables. Try to get friends of mine to eat it, however, hasnt been so successful.
"Something's wrong with you...and I hope we never do meet again." - Deftones When Girls Telephone Boys
...has an equal and opposite government program. Or at least that's what it feels like.
Any day now, I look forward to hearing how the music and software industries are trying to discourage P2P piracy by giving away candy.
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
I'd just like to add in my 2 cents.
;)
By all rights I should have been in honors student programs all the way through school, I opted out of all but the one in elementary school...
My grades were vastly worse, I never tried hard, and because I never liked school, and my parents were very liberal about making me do things, I ended up dropping out of college, and working at fast food places instead of getting involed in technology.
I'm 27 and unemployed right now, and I damn well know if I had applied myself in school I'd likely be the CEO of some multi-million dollar computer company, If I'd had to crush a few competitor on the way up there...
schools could do a lot more to improve education and help kids get better diet and exercise.. the japanese education system is a lot more refined IMO, uniforms are a Good thing for schools, they prevent a lot of self esteem issues related to what kids are wearing etc... if it's just the rules that everyone has to dress a like that's just one less thing for kids to pick on one another about
Having recently returned from a trip to London, I can tell you that they're pretty close to an iPod-based economy already. Seemed like every third person I passed on the street had a MP3 player, and I only noticed one MP3 player in an entire week that wasn't an iPod.
They already do this.
Not kidding, either. I'm not sure about the UK (though I probably should know better...), but one of thw two high schools I went to prohibited students from bringing backpacks of any size smaller than X - unless they returned a waiver signed by the student, and the students legal guardians (i.e. parents) stating that while on school grounds they had absolutely no reasonable expectation to privacy - were prohibited. Bags of or larger than size X were absolutely prohibited. I do recall being searched on my person more than once. I was even suspended for a week for having wire cutters (I was taking basic electronics and introduction to engineering design at the time). Being an AP/Honors student sucked when all you were allowed was a dinky little bag.
Searching for, finding, and seizing snacks wouldn't be a major step.
Informatus Technologicus
In France you can't get anything but a 3-course meal (salad - main dish - cheese OR dessert) + a slice of bread at the school restaurant. Most school meals taste like crap, depending on which private company is responsible for the restaurant (my school was lucky
During meal, you can only have water, no Coke, diet Coke, Dr. Peppers, or any of all that crap.
Snacks & sodas are available in the school through vending machines, but they are rather expensive, which limits the consumption. Also, the legislators are thinking about forbidding the vending machines, and they probably will succeed. We saw some fruit vending machines appear, which I think is rather nice.
There is no such thing as a "cafeteria" in schools.
Also, no school is sponsored by Coke, Pepsi, or anyone at all for that matter (forbidden).
The obesity rate is extremely low, albeit rapidly growing among the youngest (due to unhealthy meals at home & junk food everywhere, which is much more difficult to control).
Hello! I'm a disaster waiting to happen!
Wait 'till they unvail the Fucking For Virginity campaign next week.
Well they've been "fighting for peace" for a while now
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