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Comment on Poll reveals the amount of Brits who would take weight-loss jabs for free on NHS

I wonder how much it would cost to fund a nation wide programme of heavily subsidised gym usage. Bring the price right down to say £20 a month per user. Provide an allocation of personal trainers and physiotherapists. Create a vocational qualification if they don’t exist. Expand the availability of gyms so that they are convenient.

Surely the long term health benefits (in addition to the benefits for your mental health) are going to be cheaper than jabbing yourself with drugs?

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Apytele@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Gym doesn’t help the weight issue. You gain weight in the gym, you lose it in the kitchen.

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- mannycalavera@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  It depends on how you work out. Although I agree pairing with a healthy diet is a must.
  
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  - LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    No it really doesn’t. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSSkDos2hzo
    
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    mannycalavera@feddit.uk ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    The YouTube cartoon must be right then 👍. Glad it helped you to eat less.
    
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Monzcarro@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I’m just speaking for myself here, so not saying this is true for everyone or even many people, but the cost of the gym isn’t the biggest barrier for me.

I like what you say about expanding availability - there isn’t a gym within (reasonable) walking distance of me. I think facilities being in communities makes a difference.

However, one of the biggest barriers to me is childcare. Somewhere where I could take them to do their own activities while I worked out would make it far more likely that I use it, and I suspect this is the case for others. My partner works long, unpredictable hours, so I can’t sign up for the weekly classes (that I did before having children) as I don’t know that he’ll be around to look after them.

I also have chronic health issues, which don’t prevent me exercising all the time, but there are days where I cannot leave my bed because of migraine, so again, committing to something regular is difficult. (Again, persoal to me, but I’m not alone in having a chronic condition.)

I tend to walk everywhere I can as accessing formal exercise has too many barriers for me, so I do have an acceptable level of fitness, but I miss doing classes as I found these really motivating.

Sorry for the long reply - I don’t disagree that price and access are issues, but there are more besides that I think need to be addressed. Stress and available time being factors in additional to the others I mentioned.

I also think there are issues with the weight loss drugs besides cost, one of those being the need to stay on them longterm. That’s not even getting in to using weight ad the sole metric of health.

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- mannycalavera@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Very good points. I walk to our gym and I suppose that is a luxury. Even better if everyone had a place they could easily walk to. And also +1 on the child care point.
  
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- Raiderkev@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  As someone who has kids, the only time I can get my workout in is after they’re asleep (or before they wake up, but I’m NOT a morning person). I set up a gym in my garage because at that point, driving to a gym and back adds too much time so close to bedtime and also I’d feel weird about leaving my wife and kids alone at night.
  
  After Covid, I got really out of shape, and one day, I just couldn’t take it anymore and took some steps to getting back into a routine. I have a bench press I got off nextdoor for cheap, adjustable dumbbells (not so cheap but also got off nextdoor practically new for much cheaper than retail) and a treadmill I got for free. I got some gym flooring mats from Ross for ~$60. All in all maybe a $500-$600 investment. It’s been well worth it though. I feel much better and for the first time in a long time, I can stand to look at myself in the mirror. Finding the time especially as a parent is never easy, but you’ve gotta find something that works for you. We need to move our bodies. We weren’t meant to sit around all day, and frankly, I don’t think injecting yourself with these drugs is the answer to weight gain.
  
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Annoyed_Crabby@monyet.cc ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Recently there’s a lot of research about weight lost, and some of them found exercising isn’t a great way to lose weight, because when you do it regularly your body learn to adapt to the energy required for that activity. They found controlling what you eat is the better way, but i do know some people can’t lose weight that way either, no matter how hard they try. So this solution could be specifically aimed for that. Still, exercise is good for health though, pretty sure these jab will not have the benefits from exercising, and someone could very well rebound if they eat the same way that make them gain weight.

Also i don’t think the accessibility of gym is the key, exercise cost nothing if you go out and jog or ride a bike.

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- HowManyNimons@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  The trick is to fit exercise into a routine. Work + sleep + family + study can add up to all of the available hours. Subsidised gym won’t help with that.
  
  Eating well: that also takes time. And planning. This is where we should be focusing our attention if we want to improve our country’s health. Not weight loss jabs and not subsidising gyms.
  
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  - LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    
    The trick is to fit exercise into a routine.
    
    That’s not true, again he said literally the opposite - routinely exercising makes you lose less weight, not more. If anything this would suggest that exercising at random would probably make you lose weight more, just as an unfit person taking a run gets more tired faster than someone who does it every day.
    
    Please actually read what the comment you’re replying to says.
    
    Exercise does not make you lose weight, only eating less does, and the reason some people eat more is because they are genetically more hungry, these meds fix this, it’s that simple.
    
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    HowManyNimons@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I think I must have hit reply on the wrong comment. I’m sorry it seems to have upset you so much.
    
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