We need to do everything we can to help people understand the benefits of exercise and a healthy lifestyle, as well as making it possible for everyone to be as fit, active and healthy as they can be.
Some simple areas that could kickstart this include funding public gyms, increasing public facilities for exercise, making green space more accessible, banning junk food adverts, moving sweets to specific areas in shops and supermarkets where they aren’t as easily accessible, having pictures on sugary snacks showing the impact’s they have (akin to cigarettes), increasing the prices of unhealthy foods, make healthy more affordable / attainable.
This can also be linked to the undisputed need to address climate change. People walking more and using bicycles because they understand the health benefits would help tackle the global climate crisis. A more extreme way would be to link taxes to healthy and sustainable lifestyles. The fundamental idea being the more ‘good’ you put into society the less you pay. For example, recycling more, using more sustainable power sources, travelling by public transport, travelling by bike, walking, reducing internet / data usage, recycling old shoes and clothes etc etc, could all be variables that result in tax credits. Clearly this has its issues as not everyone will be able to do as much as others due to their circumstances but this would need to be done in a manner that made sure everyone had the ability to participate and subsequently benefit. From a fiscal perspective, this may result in less tax income but I have no doubt it would lead to reduced government costs and would result in a net increase financially, environmentally and socially.
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