Over the past decade, Alaska has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars to promote better health. In the process, entrenched government bureaucrats have endlessly renamed and reimagined expensive statewide health schemes – all of which have failed to curtail obesity, diabetes or the growing sedentary lifestyles that plague Alaskans.
Of particular concern are the youth – 33% of whom are now considered obese, according to the latest data from Alaska’s health department.
Adults are even worse off, with the percentage of Alaskan who are overweight or obese swelling from 48% in 1991 to 69% in 2023. Among men the increase was from 57% to 74%, and among women it was 36% to 63%.
Despite the demonstrative failure of these endless health campaigns, the state continues to double down.
Most recently, the state rolled out its “Healthy Is” ploy, which invites Alaskans “of all ages” to “celebrate healthy living” with a statewide coloring contest. That’s right, the goal is to get Alaskans to take up crayons to “share their own perspectives on what being healthy means, recognizing that health can take many forms.”
Obesity won’t melt away with more coloring contests, poster campaigns or curriculum overhauls. No amount of surveys, or classroom discussions about the ills of sugary snacks will burn calories or strengthen muscles.
Winners receive a $20 Amazon gift card, and a bookmark.
“Health looks different for each of us, but it’s something we all have the power to shape in our daily lives,” Alaska Health Commissioner Hedberg said of the latest gimmick.
In reality, health and fitness entail hard work, sacrifice and willpower. Rather than waste taxpayer dollars to bankroll more listless health campaigns, the state should take the lead of President Trump and launch its own version of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award – a program that challenges kids to meet objective strength, speed and endurance benchmarks, and then publicly honors those who rise to the occasion.
Under pressure from the social-emotional learning crowd, who distain old fashioned competition and objective standards, President Obama ditched the popular fitness program back in 2013 – ending a nearly 60-year tradition that started under the Eisenhower administration.
This past summer, Trump announced that the popular program was making a comeback, equip with honors and awards for kids who could demonstrate their fitness through traditional timed runs, long jumps, pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and more.
Rewarding kids with a cool patch and certificate for achieving a challenging – and invariably competitive – fitness goal is exactly the right course.
Obesity won’t melt away with more coloring contests, poster campaigns or curriculum overhauls. No amount of surveys, or classroom discussions about the ills of sugary snacks will burn calories or strengthen muscles.
Most kids do, however, respond to competition and objective challenges.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Gov. Mike Dunleavy needs to ditch all the expensive and embarrassing health propaganda initiatives and come up with a unique Alaska-centric challenge. It might include summiting a mountain, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking or canoeing a certain number of miles. He could even incorporate Alaska Native sports like the one-foot high kick, seal hop or wrist carry. Another idea would be to issue a certificate to those who hit the trail to find and identify a certain number of Alaska animals and plants.
The possibilities are endless, but the point is that we need a new approach – one that taps into the innate human desire to engage in wholesome competition, while achieving objective, measurable goals.
Rather than fritter away another decade pouring taxpayer money down a colossal sinkhole, we might actually reduce both the budget and our waistlines.
TAKING ACTION
— Click here to send a suggestion to Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
— To contact Alaska Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg, send an email to heidi.hedberg@alaska.gov, or call (907) 269-7800..
The views expressed here are those of the author.
3 Comments
Agree 100%. I actually read your article between sets while at the gym, where I go over lunch 3-4 days a week, the others days are for hiking, running, walking, xc skiing, snow machining etc. I developed the habit of exercise as a teenager and now at age 65 I am still at it with the resultant blessing of good health, mobility, agility, endurance, strength, mental clarity – the list could go on. I am in better shape & health then far too many half my age which is sad, and frustrating.
We have become a lazy culture addicted to food, and other unhealthy things, especially processed and simple carbohydrates. You are correct, habits take effort, developing a habit of fitness does, initially, take work, and commitment. One has to learn a bit about nutrition to make healthy choices, and commit to regular exercise over sitting in front of a screen. Add also healthy living ideally needs to begin in childhood with parents modeling good choices. Our kids are all grown and all have followed what they saw growing up, healthy good, lots of activity, sports, and daily exercise.
The medical ‘industry’ is partially to blame as there is sadly more money made from sick people and it seems there is virtually no health advising from your standard provider. There are some great resources for nutritional and lifestyle counseling that you would think every person dealing with metabolic issues would be pointed toward. Alas, no. Case in point – This summer we had an adult family member from out of state living with us for a couple months who has Type II adult onset diabetes. It was stunning how little he knew about food and his diet was atrocious. He is being treated for diabetes, on medication for it, yet was never provided any guidance or direction in learning about what foods to eat, not to eat, and how to improve his health. Just take these meds and check your blood sugar. He was drinking multiple sodas a day. We did our best to engage in some proactive conversation and hoped our example might be noticed, but this family member, whom we love dearly and would like to see live a long productive life, jus5 couldn’t get it, because his doctor never told him to do anything different – just take these pills. Next it will be insulin shots. Neuropathy will set in, maybe an injury, eventually kidney issues and potential failure, or lost limbs. It is really serious but all he was told was ‘take these pills’.
Metabolic disease is breaking the bank of healthcare but pharmaceutical companies and big health conglomerates are getting filthy rich off of it. I would go so far as to suspect the insurance companies are somehow in on it. What would make sense to me would be to have incentives for adults, not just kids. Tax credits or insurance discounts for healthy statistics such as BMI, BP, heart rate, blood sugar. Instead, the healthy, those making the effort to take care of themselves, pay for the those that don’t.
Funny how that HAES dumbness died out about as soon as the fatties were able to take a weight loss shot like ozempic LOL. Looks like you weren’t actually proud of your 400lbs, you were just lazy and waiting for a quick fix. Shocker.
Stop being fat and lazy. It’s not your thyroid, it’s your cheeseburger.
Jake and Joel —— Please allow paragraph breaks in the comments