The video on health care was very interesting and inspiring. It struck a particular chord with me I feel because I have family members who struggle with obesity and/or struggle with diabetes. Diabetes is a very misunderstood disease and many people are under the impression it is only a large disease for people who are overweight. Diabetes is very prevalent in my family, and the diet that is expected is difficult to follow most times. Simply hearing how much of a difference 30 min. can make in a life of someone, made me wish that this information and video in particular could be shown to a wider audience on a regular occasion. It would help people, I believe, with the excuse that getting in shape takes a lot of work.
Michelle Obama's, Let's Move initiative is a great policy issue that she has taken upon herself to try and revive focus on. The video mentioned that the average adult spends about six hours in front of a screen, which made me question how much children spent in front of screens as well. Her initiative is obviously a large supporter of more fitness. What shocked me most about the video was that it was one of the first that didn't focus on a strict type of dietary plan but instead focused mainly on a simple cardio exercise.
I feel a great policy for communities around Arizona and the U.S. would be to provide incentives businesses that sponsor school teams or club teams. With these sponsorship it will allow the people who work at these businesses the opportunity to either be a part of an adult team or coach a team in a way to give back to the community. Businesses could also be held accountable for at least once a year participating in a marathon walk or run. I feel that if more businesses in a community took part in these type of activities, it would be highlighted in the media as well as in residential areas since they are the easiest to reach out too. Places like Intel, which offer recreational activities on the premises need to be implemented in other businesses so that it can encourage a place to be active on breaks or outside of work. I feel that the issue over health has reached such a high extent that the government does need to be a part of it. This isn't stating that the government needs to be completely in charge of it, but I feel that there needs to be some type of action through government to get the reformation process all over the United States going. If the government does not begin to show an interest it's people it could very well fall even further behind. The U.S. does not need to become a socialist nation but if other countries can find ways, like Switzerland, to not charge their citizens for health insurance and have healthier citizens then it is very possible for the U.S. to do the same.
After reading some of the articles from the many think tanks, I feel that the major concern with the implementation of the affordable health care of 2010 primarily is focused on economic concerns. There is little focus on the overall advantage it gives the families that it can help or what it would mean for patients or doctors. It primarily focuses on how it will affect programs such Medicaid and what it will mean for tax payers. It focused on employment and unemployment opportunities and what this will mean for people of different standing from middle class to upper class citizens. It focuses much more on how this reform will affect employers and people with or without insurance.
I agree with what you have said about health reform, and how it is focused on the money. I think there should be more health care plans for low income people who cannot afford it, that way they can have a healthy life without any risk.
ReplyDeleteI agree that video on health should be shown on a daily bases to a broad audience. It is truely amazing what 30 minutes can mean to someones life. The concern of health care is a big one. Most politicians focus on the financial impacts, but not enough on the end results. If Canada can do it...I know us in America and do it and make it better. Lets put our future in people not money. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI liked your idea about having businesses involved in promoting healthier lifestyles. If companies would encourage their employees to get fit and stay fit, not only would it lower the cost of providing employee heath care, it would also reduced the number of missed workdays due to illness. The amount of time children spend playing video games and watching TV is disturbing, even more so when you consider the climate in Arizona is conducive to many outdoor activities. Parents need to encourage their kids to go outside and play!
ReplyDeleteHello! I wanted to comment on your idea of activity space within businesses for light exercise. I went to Denmark when I was younger, and witnessed first had how many corporations, or businesses there actually have their own local sports teams composed of employees that compete with other businesses. It was really quite cool. These businesses also have a large part in providing company cars for their employees, among other things. The taxes there are high, but there is so much more involvement for people to stay fit, which in turn reflects their work performance for the company. I feel it is a good idea. We cannot expect businesses to care about us, but if the government were to somehow convince them that being more involved in their employees' welfare will yield a better product or higher productivity, maybe they will be interested. They seem to go the route of just laying off older persons, and paying younger more enthusiastic people less money to work more. This cannot be the answer. Some businesses offer daycare centers for employee's children here already, maybe they could have a gym on the premises, like you mentioned, to inspire employees to get moving on their breaks or at lunch. This has been proven to improve attitude and efficiency. Great ideas in your post!
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