Hawaii Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
health care....
as follow up to Lisa' s earlier post I thought I would share this great editorial in today's NY Times.....thoughts? comments?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10pollan.html?ref=opinion
Re: health care....
Great link...thanks for posting, Alix!!!
It would be interesting to see the details of this type of strategy. If "health insurers would be required to take everyone at the same rates, provide a standard level of coverage and keep people on their rolls regardless of their health", what will incentivize one to make the decision to adopt a healthier lifestyle? Aside from actively dictating what Americans eat, I'm not sure how much of a behavior change can be influenced by an anti-soda ad campaign.
Making healthier food more affordable than "unhealthy" food is compelling. It would help in the case of those people who want to be healthy, but who just can't afford it.
Like Nicole, I'm intrigued by the idea of taxing unhealthy foods... especially if the taxes could be specifically applied to offsetting the costs of health care (whether it's in the form of a public plan, nutritional education programs, or even preventative-care incentives for doctors). I wonder which factors would be used to designate a food as healthy or unhealthy? Total caloric value, percentage of calories from fat, or sodium per serving... I can just see that becoming a red-tape nightmare that would put the current health-care debate to shame.
But don't get me wrong - I would LOVE to see healthy, locally grown foods sold at the same prices, or lower, than the packaged nightmares found in the supermarket aisles! And don't get me started on fast food, it just scares the crap out of me.
This phrase from the article really struck me:
"Terms like ?pre-existing conditions? and ?underwriting? would vanish from the health insurance rulebook ? and, when they do, the relationship between the health insurance industry and the food industry will undergo a sea change."
For many reasons, I'd like to see this prediction come true.
I agree...health care needs a major wellness component that not only includes diet but also lifestyle. But here's the rub...where do we start?
Tobacco is a huge multibillion dollar industry (that actually bolstered our economy in the 1800's)...but really, if they want to cut down on preventable diseases they need to outlaw tobacco all together.
Then you have the fast-food/low-nutrition issues that pervade every sector of our society. Poor people have very little access to affordable, healthy choices. Middle class people are so busy keeping it all together on a daily basis that hitting the drive through or ordering pizza is easier/faster than shopping/preparing a meal. Well-to-do folks can afford health food and many do, along with having the time to prepare it and/or hiring someone to do it for them OR they fall into the category of those who eat richly (steak, lobster, restaurant meals prepared with hidden fats and oils, oversized portions, etc) because they can afford it and many eat mainly in restaurants rather than at home since it's easier and they can afford to do it. At the end of the day, rich or poor or in between, folks have to get back to shopping for fresh foods and cooking at home.
Add into that....what passes for accpetable nutrition in schools is criminal...I am talking from pre-school through college (I didn't gain weight until my first year of college and living in the dorms). And the fact that many have cut their physical education and afterschool sports programs. Kids spend more time on computers and playing video games than playing outside, riding bikes, etc. like we did when we were kids. Many city parks are run down and attract unsavory activity/characters, so kids aren't in them anymore. This all adds up to generations of inactive, poorly nourished folks.
So yes, I'd love to see them address more affordable and healthy food choices. But the food lobby in this country is strong...how many billions of dollars do Nestle, Kraft, General Mills, Coca Cola and McDonalds et al have behind them?Local Farm Co-ops could never compete. I hate that I have to decide between organic and conventional because of my budget. I'd love to be able to afford to shop exclusively at Whole Foods. We meal plan and cook at home more than not and we rarely eat fast food (if at all). We also live in a time when two income households and single parent households far out number the single income, two parent households of yesteryear. That severely impacts folks' abilities to shop and cook healthy meals let alone provide time for them to take them outside to play (since gone are the days where you can let your kids play outside unattended).
I don't think government can legislate this sort of change...it needs to happen at the grass-roots level. And it will take 1-2 more generations before it can swing the other way and those people will need good healthcare to manage all of their health issues.
We're starting at home....DH and I plan to have dinner with our kids every night (it's sad that it's considered not the norm to do so) and shop/cook with them so they learn good choices. And McDonald's will never be a "treat" for them. We also plan to get them out...in the local playground or even our backyard for fresh air, sunshine and physical activity. I don't want to raise plugged-in kids (computers, TV and video games).
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
I have to agree with this. When we lived in Darwin, I ate absolute crap, and my body paid for it. But the food prices there were ridiculous - a small, wilted head of lettuce was $7, no lie! And on top of that, housing and gas prices were also crazy, so all of your money went to paying your mortgage/rent and putting gas in your car, thus leaving you less to spend on healthy food. We ate a LOT of refined carb foods, just because they were cheap. I know this isn't quite the same as the point of this thread, but the point is - being able to afford healthy food at reasonable prices is critical.