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Exercise Mandate? Work-Out Prescriptions With Penalties Proposed in U.K.

Jan. 7, 2013 10:40am
U.K. Councils Proposed Incentive Program for Exercise Met With Criticism

U.K. council proposes exercise incentive program that has some concerned. (Image: Shutterstock.com)

Last week, there was a proposition made in the United Kingdom that would incentivise exercise for those deemed overweight, but many saw it as a proposed exercise mandate that would result in negative consequences for those who refused to take it up.

The proposition by the Westminster City Council in the report “A Dose of Localism: The Role of Council in Public Health” is part of the overall effort to have local governments take control of public health in an effort to save £5 billion on the U.K.’s National Health Service budget.

Among the suggestions in the report was a line that read:

Where an exercise package is prescribed to a resident, housing and council tax benefit payments could be varied to reward or incentivise residents.

Many focused on the flip side of this, that those who refused to take on the exercise would lose out on the additional money. BBC reported it as a provision where residents would have their “money docked if they refuse exercise regimes prescribed by doctors.”

The report itself only mentions the word “exercise” once. In most other instances, it uses the word “leisure.” It states (emphasis added):

Prescription of leisure activities to help raise activity levels. Several local authorities have introduced schemes that allow GPs [general practitioners] to prescribe physical activities at local facilities including council swimming pools, gyms, yoga and walking clubs. These schemes tend to have been delivered in partnership with PCTs. Following the transfer of commissioning responsibilities to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), local authorities will need to ensure that GPs are aware of the strength of the local authority in this area through their relationships with CCG Chairs on Health and Wellbeing Boards. Local authorities should consider making provision for prescription of leisure activities in their service level agreements with providers. Such schemes will deliver benefits to both GPs and local authorities.

Linking welfare measures to behaviours that promote public health. Relocalisation of council tax benefit and housing benefit combined with new technologies provide an opportunity for councils to embed financial incentives for behaviours that promote public health. The increasing use of smart cards for access to leisure facilities, for instance, provides councils with a significant amount of data on usage patterns. Where an exercise package is prescribed to a resident, housing and council tax benefit payments could be varied to reward or incentivise residents.

BBC reported some criticism of this idea, like from British Medical Association member Dr.Lawrence Buckman who said it was “draconian and silly” and ”some of the silliest things I’ve heard in a long time”.

Although, he went on to say a better way to make the population healthier would be to “stop restaurants and fast-food chains providing the kind of food that make people put on weight, and interfere with the way foods are sold in shops.”

Charlotte Cooper in The Guardian criticized the council treating weight loss as a “panacea” for improvement of health and called the report the “result of mixing a loathing for poor people with the wider medically sanctioned disgust of fat in order to do things a bit more cheaply.”

Jonathan Carr-West, acting chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit that drafted the report, wrote in a blog post titled “Fat is a Local Government Issue” to defend the proposition against some of the accusations being made in the media:

That’s not quite where we were coming from. The suggestion that councils could think about varying benefit levels stems, rather, from a recognition that going along to a leisure centre can be expensive and that, by taking steps to improve their physical health, residents ultimately save the public sector money. The point is to remove barriers to people who want to get healthier and fitter. That’s about supporting, not loathing, poorer people.

Some are concerned by the fact that such an incentive program was suggested by the government as a whole.

Daniel Greenfield for the conservative FrontPage Magazine wrote that this idea clearly shows the “cost of free health care for the receiver is his freedom. Referencing similar free healthcare that is being instituted in the United States, Greenfield noted that he believes “what is policy in Europe today, will be policy in America in 5-10 years.”

Featured image via Shutterstock.com. 

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Comments (44)

  • mash4077
    Posted on January 8, 2013 at 5:56pm

    does it still look like free to you? guess what american sheeple, this is your fate as well. how’s that hope and change working for you? thanks college kids,liberals,unions,democrats,elites,and celebrities for selling us down the river into the slavery of socialism.payback is a mofo.

    Report this comment

    mash4077  
  • @leftfighter
    Posted on January 8, 2013 at 11:57am

    I know it’s probably been said one or a dozen times here. I’m just not interested in going to find it.

    “Hello, Agenda 21.”

    How long until the treadmills and energy bikes?

    Report this comment

    @leftfighter  
  • Marsh626
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 7:07pm

    Banning unhealthy foods and forcing people to exercise is one of the few things I agree with the totalitarian Marxist Left on. For God sakes, way too many blimps waddling around these days…

    Report this comment

    Marsh626  
    • americangrammy
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 8:44pm

      You either believe in freedom or you don’t.
      Maybe you think we should ban anything you don’t like? Everyone should be forced to adhere to whatever body image YOU think is pretty? Perhaps we should just kill everyone you think is ugly or people with malformed bodies?
      Yeah… Hitler thought like that also. Didn’t work out too well for him….
      Might want to rethink your position. The Marxists might decide you don’t fit the ideal either.

      Report this comment

       
    • Clownzilla
      Posted on January 8, 2013 at 1:43pm

      @Marsh

      I think a lack off sleep is VERY important to a healthy body. The state should require that all citizens that don’t work at night should be in bed by 10:00 PM. If you are found to be up past 10PM you will face a fine or jail time. Other than that I hate Marxism! You see how hypocritical that is? Like AmericanGrammy said, you are either FOR freedom or against it (regardless if you like the freedoms or not).

      Report this comment

      Clownzilla  
  • cosmic dogma
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 5:44pm

    What about other factors that dominate the health care cost issue? Such as homosexuality…very expensive if one contracts AIDS. Suggest banning homosexuality. See what happens. How about having large numbers of illegitimate children? Expensive and unhealthy. How about marriage? Married partners are healthier. Suggest mandatory marriage. How about going to Church? People who go to church are healthier. Suggest mandatory church attendance. See what happens. Fat people are sooo easy to pick on. Very obvious in their flaws. Unlike the beautiful people, whose illness is in their spirits and souls.

    Report this comment

    cosmic dogma  
  • freedoc
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 2:58pm

    In our new world, if I have to pay more money to care for fat people( which we most certainly do), then for their ‘free’ medical care, they should have to abide by an exercise regimen—which is unequivically proven to be very important in human health—-of MY choosing.

    Why should I pay more because they choose to be fat and lazy???

    Thats hardly fair.

    Likewise, if your near death, why bother paying for additional medical care????

    On and on it goes.

    There is only one solution: YOU pay for ALL your medical care.

    Healthcare is NOT a right, never has been, and never can be.

    You dolts.

    Report this comment

    freedoc  
    • americangrammy
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 3:57pm

      I agree with you. Health care is not a right. We do need to pay for our own health care. But somehow, we have to work it out so that health care is affordable for everyone. The costs of medical care are way too high even for most middle class people without some kind of help. It is a myth that you will always be healthy if you eat certain foods and exercise. At some point in your life you are going to get sick or injured and need medical care. With medical costs in the stratosphere, do you simply get a huge loan to pay for that overnight stay in the hospital which cost you $5,000? What if you are not financially able to do this?
      This is a problem that has to be confronted by all Americans. There are NO easy answers. But one thing I do know, blaming the sick for their diseases, attempting to find fault with suffering people because GOVERNMENT is sticking you for their health care only serves to divide us further.
      And divided we fall…..

      Report this comment

       
    • Keep Your Skepticals On
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 7:50pm

      Spot on. The moment a financial obligation for a personal decision is turned over to someone else, it’s not a personal decision anymore. It’s a financial decision to be made by bureaucrats. People should not be surprised when suddenly freeedom becomes too expensive.

      Report this comment

      Keep Your Skepticals On  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 2:21pm

    Yah– That’s not interfering with the patient/doctor relationship.

    Report this comment

    Ghandi was a Republican  
  • THX-1138
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 12:43pm

    Now who could have seen this coming? (Oh, wait, I remember; Damn Nearly Every Libertarian/Conservative since this kind of garbage was first proposed.)

    Suffer you fat serfs!

    Report this comment

    THX-1138  
  • term limits for congress
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 12:32pm

    Hasn’t Bloomberg already banned fat people in NYC?

    Report this comment

    term limits for congress  
  • spirited
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 12:24pm

    Anyone who cannot see
    that The Affordable Healthcare “Act”
    is all about
    controlling human behavior
    must be blind, ignorant or anti-American.

    What’s next, “I’d Like To Teach The World to Eat” as the New World Citizen anthem;
    >sponsored by Monsanto and enorced by the EPA?

    Report this comment

    spirited  
  • moreteaplease
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:56am

    You know Moosy is salivating over this. It’ll make its way across the pond before you know it.

    Report this comment

    moreteaplease  
  • Janet056
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:52am

    They’ve been listening to Momma Obama too long……

    Report this comment

    Janet056  
  • RANGER1965
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:40am

    A right thing (Exercise), done in right way (A personal choice), is a good thing.

    A right thing (Exercise), done in wrong way (enforced through taxes and penalties) is a bad thing.

    The ends never, EVER! justify the means. A better world is a byproduct of a liberated and happy people. It cannot be legislated, it cannot be created. Whenever it’s tried, all that’s created is just another version of hell.

    Report this comment

    RANGER1965  
    • DeOppressoLiber
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 12:13pm

      Since I have to embrace ObamaCare I have to agree with this. I do not want to pay for fat a$$es and their self induced prolonged death. Please do not site that one study where they included skinny people with cancer and other long term illnesses.

      The VA amputates more limbs than the active military because of Type II diabetes, yes even during these wars over the last decade.

      We need to run it like the military healthcare.

      Height and weight standards: you fail twice you lose benefits
      PT test twice a year: fail twice lose benefits
      Piss test anytime you fail you lose your benefits

      Report this comment

      DeOppressoLiber  
    • americangrammy
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 1:58pm

      You do know that all of these health numbers were made up by so called “scientists” right? I’m a former RN and I can tell you that a good many of these made up numbers are simply some idiots opinion. Most of them were made up to induce people to believe they MUST take drugs. It’s a win -win for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. As for your unwillingness to “subsidize” a “fat” person, well I don’t want to have to “subsidize” people who require thousands of dollars in health care costs to pay for injuries from extreme sports, or any rough or contact sports. And don’t get me started on those who ride motor cyles! I’ve worked both emergency department and ICU and I can tell you that we are talking millions of dollars! This a lifestyle choice that injures and kills people everyday.
      Here’s the point, you don’t have the right to tell me what to weigh or eat and to force me to conform to your ideas because of economics and taxation, and I don’t have the right to tell you that you can’t ride a bike or go rock climbing or even play football for the same reason. All of this idiocy began with forcing smokers out of public (I don’t smoke) which started us down this slippery slope and which is stealing our rights as free people. Here’s a radical idea… let’s change our mantra from “if you see something, say something”, back to, “mind your own business!”

      Report this comment

       
  • Angel_light
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:38am

    I’m watching our freedom go down the drain. makes me sick.

    Report this comment

    Angel_light  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:27am

    .
    Somebody please pull my finger……..

    Report this comment

    SpankDaMonkey  
  • IMCHRISTIAN
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:22am

    I do feel so much better when I exercise and eat right (most of the time), however, we do have the right to freedom and if you chose to be lazy and sit around doing electronics most of the day then you should be responsible for your own health (mentally or physically) and higher insurance premiums. Don’t blame others for your habits.

    Report this comment

    IMCHRISTIAN  
    • Minnaloushe
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:33am

      @IMCHRISTIAN,
      How much time do you spend at the computer each day and what kind of content do you peruse? This information is necessary so that your premiums for vision-related coverage can be adjusted in case you are an excessive computer user. Since the content type can also play a role in eye-related health issues (reading vs motion video, etc) we will need detailed reports of your computer use, both online and offline. This information will need to be persisted and made available to give insurers a balanced, multi-year context for your visual health history.

      Report this comment

      Minnaloushe  
    • IMCHRISTIAN
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:52am

      Minna..I should have said lazy and/or sit. However, I do give out any information to my insurance company that is necessary and as I said each of us should be responsible for ourselves.

      Report this comment

      IMCHRISTIAN  
    • Minnaloushe
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 12:05pm

      Yah. I think the problem comes when the *government* is that insurer. Then there won’t be a choice, but that’s the point of totalitarianism anyway.

      Report this comment

      Minnaloushe  
    • IMCHRISTIAN
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 1:24pm

      Minna….Yes, big government is in it for themselves not to help any class of people.

      Report this comment

      IMCHRISTIAN  
  • Eastinfection
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:21am

    Coming soon to a theater near you!

    Report this comment

    Eastinfection  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:20am

    I’ll give it less than the ten-year window they mentioned for it to become policy in the US. I figure less than two years.

    Report this comment

    Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • woodyee
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:13am

    Uncontrolled GOVERNMENT controls your everyday behavior. They’re expanding their control over the citizenry in England, down to the city council level, slowly, but SURELY.

    They use taxes and law. In the case this ‘proposal’, If you exercise, you get a tax incentive, ergo the REVERSE is true – if you FAIL to exercise you will be penalized. Restaurants will be TOLD what they can and CAN’T serve. Think it can’t happen here? Think salt, 32oz sodas, mandated school lunch and their accompanying menus, and foie-gras.

    Report this comment

    woodyee  
  • salvawhoray
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:13am

    I know a fat liberal, and I told her two years ago that this will be happening here in the USA. She doesn’t believe men of course. In a way I hope it does just so I can eat some pizza in front of her as she works out.
    I’m sure some people will die during their exercises, but i’m willing to have them take that chance. I was once 215lb. I lost 65lbs in less than 6 months, and been keeping it off for 7 years now.

    Report this comment

    salvawhoray  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:20am

      Well email her this article if you can do so without getting in trouble at work or whatever.

      Maybe it will be another crack in the dam of liberalism & it will be the one that makes it burst. She might become more libertarian.

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
    • woodyee
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:29am

      How’d you lose 10+lbs a month?

      I need to lose 15 – because I WANT TO.

      Report this comment

      woodyee  
  • hatchetjob
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:10am

    If anything this would bring on more heart attacks, would it not?

    Report this comment

    hatchetjob  
  • Cavallo
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:06am

    Isn’t fascism wonderful? Isn’t it wonderful that so many British died fighting German Fascists and in less than 100 years, they adopt Fascism as their own form of government. Some of this stuff is so surreal that I doubt you’d get Orwell or Kafka to believe it.

    Report this comment

    Cavallo  
  • SocialistSlayer
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:02am

    I’m sure this article is making that Communist New York mayor experience tingles up his frail pathetic legs !

    Report this comment

    SocialistSlayer  
  • IndyGuy
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:00am

    Is Michelle Obama in the U.K???

    Report this comment

    IndyGuy  
  • dosdelgados
    Posted on January 7, 2013 at 10:59am

    Here we go.

    Report this comment

    dosdelgados  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:15am

      He who has the gold makes the rules.

      If Uncle Slam give you the gold, he will tell you what to do. I can see Sandra Flucke becoming quite chunky in a decade. How kind will ObamaCare be to her?

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on January 7, 2013 at 11:21am

      I can see it happening within two more years, at the most. Obama will impose this via the Obama care tyranny system. “For the public good and the collective good” will be his excuse.

      Report this comment

      Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  

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