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Okay, let's talk about how the government's obesity plan is only really exercising ways to blame people and avoid the real issues, shall we?
Boris Johnson's 'inspiring' video about him going for long walks/runs with his dog in the morning while wearing carefully flattering clothes, doesn't match up to the reality a lot of people face.
It's easy to say 'get up earlier', etc. But a lot of people have been back at work, up early, dealing with childcare, rushing from the moment they get up until they get into work.
Let's be honest here too, it's the people in the lower paying jobs that deal with this the most. The long commutes, the early hours, and (importantly) the lack of working from home. Because this govt has decided they NEED to go in during a pandemic.
There's a stress that comes in with being poor too. Always worrying about having enough money for emergencies, and worrying that a broken washing machine will make the difference between being able to put food on the table or not.
So, for a lot of people in lower-paid jobs, they're also stressing about being in the wrong job and are spending a significant amount of time also job-hunting.
If you're able to start taking extra time out of your day to exercise, that's great. But a lot of people are flat-out between work, looking for better work, and childcare from the moment they get up until late at night. Time can be a privilege and a luxury.
The fab @BootstrapCook has talked about the privilege of cooking healthily far better than I can, but when you're stretched for time, being able to plan and cook properly and healthily is time consuming. When you're exhausted, the frozen pizza is easy.
Doing these things better involves the time and mental capacity to stop and think and plan. And when you're exhausted, time and mental capacity are both running at a minimum.
But let's talk about making as well. Are we making those good choices easier or are we just making it easier to judge people for making bad choices? Or to put it another way - which was the govt's priority to open? Pubs or gyms?
Here's a tenner off Nandos, now STOP GOING TO NANDOS, FATTY.
This government is as consistent as ever.
This government is as consistent as ever.
If the priorities were really around health, that means a societal shift towards protecting the NHS (not removing protections) and investing in local government so they can provide more and better facilities. Not just tutting at people for not losing weight.
But we're not talking about giving people more time and facilities to lose weight and be healthier. We're talking about just telling people what they should do and pretending it's a plan.
I desperately want a government that focuses on health in a real way. And that includes, to a massive extent, mental health. Because that's a huge part of this as well.
2020 has brought many of us as close to breaking point as we've been in a long time. So many people have lost their jobs or are in fear of doing so. And that's before we get to the crushing horror for those that have lost loved ones.
Too many people act like exercise is a cure for mental health, when often the reality is that mental health makes exercising more difficult or even impossible.
When I've been in depressive periods, I've found it physically difficult to reach to the table for a glass of water when I'm thirsty. During those times, I could no more go for a jog than I could walk on the moon.
I daresay I'm not alone in having felt like that at times. Being able to exercise does make me feel better, but the ability to do so can be a sign that I'm improving.
Trying to force people who are depressed or anxious to exercise when they don't feel they can doesn't help. It's just wearing a headband while shouting 'snap out of it!' at them.
On top of that, more people are going to find solace in addictions when they're feeling anxious or depressed. Including salty or sugary food, even above alcohol or nicotine.
Comfort food for some people might be healthy. For other people, it might be a big bag of carbs or a full pack of jaffa cakes, eating until feeling sick. Because 2020 is making a lot of us want to snack until we feel better and we're finding it really hard to feel better.
We should make exercising feel more attainable, absolutely. We should let people know that they can do it. But this new government approach isn't doing that. It's just adding to the shame, giving people another reason to feel bad.
We're all feeling isolated right now. We're all feeling separated. Many of us have lost loved ones, jobs or support networks. And it's not like mental health was something that was going great before the pandemic.
The tories have been ignoring the growing mental health crisis in this country for a decade. Enough people are feeling enough shame already, without just adding to it by making people feel bad they're not cycling on top of everything else.
(AND IT'S NOT LIKE THIS COUNTRY'S INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS CYCLING, WHEN WE'RE CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY WHEELED METAL DEATH MACHINES, BY THE WAY)
If we really want to support people to become healthier, we need to invest in mental health services like never before. It's beyond urgent at this point.
If we really want to support people to become healthier, we need to fund local health initiatives to offer more facilities that let people exercise in ways that suit them.
If we really want to support people to become healthier, we need to pay them more, so they're not constantly juggling priorities and exhausting themselves just to afford the rent and food.
If we really want to support people to become healthier, we need to give them the luxury of time that's afforded the more wealthy. Universal basic income would be a start and a sign that this actually has meaning.
And if we really want to support people to become healthier, we shouldn't be spending time during a pandemic shaming people because they're not doing better.
There's more. Obviously, there's more. But for now, I think, /thread.
Oh, and since he's piped up, Jamie Oliver can fuck right off. His whining about people owning large TVs from years back has always shown that he lacks an understanding of budgeting when poor. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/27/jamie-oliver-chips-cheese-modern-day-poverty?CMP=twt_gu
