General Chat

Rose swore! she said ATOS!!!!

I read that in the Telegraph and although I would certainly force some off their bums into taking excercise there are so many people who are obese for medical reasons. So it is complicated.

For me the annoyance is the obese parents who set the example of obesity is OK for their kids that need sorting out PDQ.

Breaks my heart to see fat (not chubby) little ones munching on sausage rolls in their push chairs (they don't seem to walk) which I deem child abuse.

*waits for bricks to come hurtling my way*

Yes, because I for one would never set foot in a gym, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be prepared to exercise... might be cycling, or walking or 'stepping' or zumba at home...so how would they know I was not 'trying' to lose weight ?

Also there are plenty of overweight people working /or able to work who are not given a job because of prejudice, they may be healthier than 'her next door' who is thin but will need more days off work because she smokes and gets constant chest problems because of it....

How do you measure who is obese? Is it when you can't bend, or get through doorways, or will it be reliant on ATOS to say :-0

Obese people who refuse to exercise could have their benefits cut under controversial plans being considered by a flagship London council.

The report, published for Conservative-led Westminster City Council by think-tank the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), points out obesity costs the NHS £1.5bn every year and comes ahead of responsibility for public health being transferred to local councils.

'A Dose of Localism: The Role of Council in Public Health' suggests GPs should prescribe exercise as treatment for some conditions - and councils could monitor patients, rewarding those who take activity while restricting payments such as council tax and housing benefit for those who do not.

The report suggests oyster-style smart cards, used to access gyms and leisure facilities, can provide councils with data on whether benefit claimants take exercise - with the council using a 'carrot and stick' approach to penalise those who do not.