Getting paid to shed those pounds

The Government shouldn't give money to lose weight. What they should do is tax the hell out of junk food so it's less accessible. Make food like fresh fruit and vegetables cheaper and use tobacco feilds to grow fruits and vegetables, but that would make too much sense because we live in a society of useless governments who cater to the fat cats and line their own pockets when it comes to health care.

Dear R.H.
in response to your comments re:gov't giving money to lose weight.Have you considered that the worst healithly fed people are the poor?While fruits and vegetables can be over priced,the lack of income to purchase these products is real and ties in with a real lack of nutritional education.These in
dividuals/families are forced to purchase foods that can stretch a long way and last a long time.Perhaps a little gov't incentive could go a long way.I do agree with the catering to fat cats though.

The government shouldn't pay you to lose weight. The government gets their money from me, and I have no desire to pay people to lose weight. People will start packing it on, just so they can lose it later and get paid. Why not have doctor's report overweight patients and they pay a premium for health care. Tax the heck out of them until they lose weight. Then the health care system will get extra funds to help pay for the diet programs, doctor consults, diabetes...etc
Why must the government (me) pay for bad choices people make?
AND The heck with taxing junk food. People have brains, let 'em use them. The food doesn't jump down their throats. THere are cheaper healthy choices.

OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD GIVE US INCENTIVE LIKE THE STATE FOR EXERCISE AT GYM FOR 10.00 DOWN AND 10.00 A MONTH INSTEAD CHARGING US AT THE Y.M.C.A FOR 55.00 A MONTH ALSO BETTER PRICE ON FRUIT AND VEGETABLE OUR GOV D'ONT REALLY CARE FOR THE HUMAN RACE AS LONG THEY MAKE BIG BUCK SO BE IT SHAME ON YOU

Dear B:
Obviously you have never had problems with your weight and your attitude is one of ignorance. As one who has always had to watch what I ate and was the "fat" girl in the class I can honestly say people do not want to be overweight there is no amount of renumeration that can make the jokes, stares and ignorant comments like yours make it worth it. Oh and I do not think most sane people would put their lives at risk for a few extra bucks( I don't know how much a heart attack or stroke is worth to you?)
As for health care premiums, we as a whole already pay them in our income taxes when we make over $30,000/yr and rightly so. Without those extra monies we would not have universal health care and why should it come out of the hands of the poor and keep the cycle going?
What the overweight eat or lack a of exercise is not the whole picture, genetics are not always kind . The lack of public education and/or changing information on what we should and should not eat can hold some blame here but also the fact that fresh foods are twice the amount of junk food can also take a big chunk of the blame. hence why people below the poverty line are more likely to have issues and their children are more likely to become obese at a young age.
If you actually got off your soap box B and read a medical news report or two you might see "bad choices" does not always apply.

Do you realise just how much tax money could be saved if we could slim down our Canadian people.
Especially people as they age, contact all kinds of deceases due to the fact they are over weight and yes who pays for there deceases but our health system. If we could give a irresistible incentive to reduce to a healthly weight and stay there, could you imagine how many millions we would save on the ageing population in particular baby boomers if we could just get our country slimmer.

Attention my children under 40, you are the ones footing the bills for us older people. Better to help us now, then pay for the rest of your working lifes.

The government should provide partial reimbursements for adults physical activity costs - ie. Gym memberships, soccer fees etc.

Now another thing is, that there are specific types of diseases for the different blood types, so start implementing an eat right for your blood type diet plan would be good also.

I don't think they should give money to lose weight, but maybe a tax break for people who do currently go to the gym?

Similar to the Ontario Child Fitness Tax credit, but extend that to adults also.

Introducing something called a Fat Tax to discourage unhealthy eating, similar to what they have done to cigarettes, and then use the money that is spent on those products to help the poorer people to lose weight also. That is of course saying that the government will be honest and not pocket the money and use it for their own means.

The comments posted by S.L. are getting a bit old. I understand that genetically everyone is different. But morbid obesity cannot be pinned on "genetics". Perhaps your genetics cause you to have thicker bones and carry slightly more weight, and for that I'll give you room for 20 lbs, but do you think your great-great grandparents were 350 pounds? Not a chance. It takes a lot of calroies per day to maintain a 350lb body...

I absolutely agree B. I'm not interested in paying money out of my pocket to entice obese people to lose weight, S.L. would you support the government paying citizens to stop smoking cigarettes? I already pay for my own gym pass, my yoga classes, my workout clothes, my healthy food, etc. And lack of information about healthy choices and working out are not an excuse. S.L., if you're posting on this website, you obviously have access to the internet. Which also means that endless information is at your fingertips. When I want some recipies for low budget healthy meals, I GOOGLE it, same with workout ideas. You can workout in your livingroom, you can walk on the street for free, so again, no excuses. I understand that healthy food is more expensive, but not more expensive than massive health costs and taking time off work with obesity related health problems. A combination of higher taxes on health care and subsidized physical activity has the ability to promote health and well being for everyone, skinny or fat.

I would just like to make a comment. Not all people that are over weight eat junk food. I have never been one for junk food at all and yes I am over weight. I don't eat chocolate as I have an allergy to it and I do not eat fast food. I will have the odd pizza maybe once every 3 months. The fact that everyone is blaming the "over weight" for their problems make me mad. I have always been over weight and may always be over weight but it has nothing to do with what i eat. I run for 5 hours a week. I am one of those people who will not lose weight unless I do excessive excercising. Not all people can afford a gym membership by the way. And blaming the lower class is a bunch of bull. When you're married to a construction worker there are times when it is hard enough to pay for the roof over your head but i seem to always go for the healthier foods. I don't go "here honey eat a tub of ice cream and bag of chips because thats what we can afford. you compromise, instead of fresh, buy forzen or canned. If you would actually read the article it is for people who are serious about losing weight. Infact it states that you have to pay $300 of your own money, so again what does this have to do with the lower class.

I agree with the last comment... I am overweight due to illness that restricts my activity level as i used to be extremely active and "healthy". I find there is so much to be said about treatment for overweight patients. Treatment that can change their lives and enable them live healthy lives. On the other hand, smokers who puff away harming there own health, typically dying with related illnesses, can harm myself and my childrens health and anyone remotely in breathing space to them, there treatment and health costs go unnoticed....... An alcoholic/drug addict is praised for reluctantly going to a treatment centre with a 2-20% average success rate... using it as a revolving door... How much public funding gets dumped into that a year??? Mental illness... there's another.... Obesity is an illness.... people dont chose to be like this... typically there is an underlying issue... medical, emotional, mental... etc... it is just in your face and people dont like looking at what doesnt seem to appear perfect or close to it. Some people are still very ignorant and uneducated when it comes to obesity....

You know, i don't need people to pay me to go to the gym but if the rec center pool didn't cost 10$ every time you go swimming i'd go there more often. All these winter activities are really expensive and work really slows down around here for the winter. A day at the ski hill is over 100$, not including gas, the gym keeps thinking i owe them more money every time i go in... so i walk my dog in the slush instead. I understand some people don't like walking their dogs in the slush. If there were cheaper things to do to stay active during the winter i'm sure people would lose weight without even trying. I hardly ever see fat people in Montreal and that's because there are places to go to and you have to walk to get there cause you're not gonna pay 3 dollars for the bus to take you 5 blocks.

Hmm... Mrs. Eve... People don't choose to be mentally ill either. I would say people choose to be fat more than they choose to be mentally ill. About as much as they choose to be drug addicts.

I would certainly be more jazzed to lose weight if I knew I was getting paid to do it!!!!!

The ability for people to rationalize a point of view because it supports their personal situation isn’t an objective way to debate a topic. The bottom line regarding this article is that obesity and illnesses related to it, cost the Canadian gov’t each year an exorbitant amount of cash and now the Canadian gov’t is going to pay it’s obese citizens to lose weight! This is ludicrous.

I am 30 years old. One year ago I weighed 189 pounds and for my small frame at 5’4 that put me at over 32 on the body mass index.
I was obese. I did NOT have a disease. The lifestyle choices I was making were the cause of my obesity. I was choosing to be over weight due to over eating (not junk food just food in general) and lack of any physical activity. I developed very high blood pressure and my knees were a mess. Results of the above mentioned. Obesity is NOT a disease. My mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 12 years ago and she can’t walk very well, much less do anything else. She is 5’1 and 138 pounds. The same weight she was 24 years ago when she had her 4th and last child. SHE has a disease that is slowly killing her for which there is no cure and she still manages to maintain a healthy lifestyle by choosing not to eat gluttonously and do what she can to stay active. SHE does not make excuses.

I make 35K a year before taxes and in the last year I have lost 64 pounds by becoming educated about proper nutrition and learning how to work out by using the internet. I can only afford to go to yoga if I don’t have a gym pass and the notion that you can’t get physically fit without going to the gym is ridiculous! I made the choice to walk everywhere or ride my bike. In Calgary you can take a FREE nutrition workshop at the local public library on the weekend. FREE. So few people CHOOSE to take the time to utilize that service.

At what point will people become accountable for the choices they make or don’t make? Shame on you, who say that being fat is a disease. Obesity wasn’t even a mainstream verb for describing someone’s condition 30 years ago. Obesity NEVER existed until the late 20th century. It’s not like a new bug came into existence and spread the ‘obesity disease'. Why is it that this so called 'disease' only exists in high GDP countries? (USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain) A disease is an illness that happens TO YOU, something which you have no control over. So many people excuse themselves from the responsibility we have for our own lives.

No one likes to hear that his or her traditional way of thinking is misguided or that their perspective is wrong. I know. That was me, one year ago. I woke up and took responsibility for myself. I stopped expecting someone else to do it for me. I will not be paying for someone else to lose weight when they refuse to take responsibility for their own life. My member of parliament will be receiving a letter regarding ‘Healthy Wage’ immediately.

Eve:

You think your children being wihtin 3ft of smoke is harmful, but them growing up in a house with obese parents isn't? And that smokers die from directly related diseases, but obese people don't?
I can't even touch on all of the diseases that arise from obesity.

MM, I agree with everything you said! You are a perfect example of an obese person taking ownership for your situation. Hopefully others will follow your lead.

I am an obese adult, and I got this way because of medication, inability to buy the healthier groceries and no money for a gym membership or the transportation to get there. Before the medication I was a healthy weight. Not everyone is obese due to junk food and lack of ambition. I also have a very bad back and can only walk a little bit. So my options for exercise are few. Swimming is the best and I go as often as I can. For me to lose weight it would take daily swims which for me costs too much both for transportation and membership. Government money to lose weight is a good idea, but not as a reward, most people need the money up front for things like healthier food and memberships or transportation. I am on a fixed income and things like rent and food come before recreation and transportation. If the government wants a healthier country how about free memberships and transportation to the community centers. That would be enough to get me there and exercising. How about rent control and more money for those who need it? That would help people in the lower income brackets find somewhere else to spend their money other than on rent and heat and food. Making those things more affordable would help thousands upon thousands of people, that would give people the ability to afford a membership somewhere instead of paying an outrageous rent or hydro bill. There are many reasons people become overweight, The government should think about the reasons for the problem before they start throwing money out there. I don't think a reward is the answer, I do think that money should be spent to make healthy activities more accessable to the people who need it.

I don't know about a cash incentive. But families can deduct it from their taxes for their children so why cant adults deduct the money they spend on gym memberships, or have the goverment run gym facilities!
I am a fit individual but i got the little tummy pouch and I grew tired of not fitting into my old clothing. I have lost 5 inches and 7lbs so far. But I pay $40 a month for my gym membership and $300 for a 6 week group personal training program! I would help a lot if we could deduct that from our taxes.

Since getting healthy, reduces our chances of using the health system, we are less likely to use a larger chunk of services to care for ourselves in that aspect, so would it be so bad to extend the tax deduction for adults.

I think people talk to much about other people. Problems fitness not so fit doesn"t really matter.Next thing you know another stupid law gets passed and we all lose another freedom in some way. people need to mind there own issues not some one elses. healthcare and our so called responsible gov"t all bandits in disquise. Cash incentives will just create more pigs at the trough.

I think back to those magazine ads from the 1950's with supplements to help people 'bulk up'. Perhaps our problems nowadays relates more to lack of sleep and poor quality foods and less to time spent in a gym. My thin grandparents (both sides) never exercised but oddly never had problems with their weight. Maybe they just had better genes than me? satire.