Luckily, I have the options of working and eating better. I can go buy workout DVDs (Jillian Michaels is a BEAST!), go use the state-of-the-art facilities here at Yale, and I have the means to go the grocery and buy healthy foods, like fresh fruits and veggies. Because I have the ability to do these things, I will be rewarded with my beach body, and a feeling of accomplishment. However, some people, for whatever, do not have the ability to control their weight at easily as I am. Do they deserve to feel like failures?
This is an opinion brought up recently in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Wellness Programs and incentives for healthy lifestyles have, as of late, been a burgeoning concept in healthcare. By giving people incentives to lose weight, exercise more, stop smoking, and drop other unhealthy habits, it is the hope of employers and the government, that chronic illnesses associated with unhealthy lifestyles will be decreased, and health care costs will decrease. This is all well and fine, but wellness programs con sometimes forget that not everybody has the tools needed to kick their bad habits, and often, they are punished for it, not assisted to help them reach healthier goals. Additionally, what about those who really try to get that proverbial beach body, and lose weight, but genetics stand in their way? Should they feel like failures because they could not reach a certain goal?
I think that wellness programs are awesome. For me, the incentive of looking good on the beach is enough for me to want to get in better shape. But I also can do so, relatively easy. Sometimes, incentives to be healthy are not enough. Empowering people with assistance, and attempting to eliminate barriers to healthier behaviors are needed to supplement incentives to live healthier lives.
--Whitney
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