英国NHS计划奖励减肥者

Overweight people will be paid to lose weight, under radical new Government plans unveiled today to tackle the escalating obesity crisis

Under the NHS-backed scheme, those who shed the pounds will be rewarded with cash or shopping vouchers.

Incentives could be higher or lower depending on the amount of weight a participant loses, although the amounts are still unclear.

However only those with a job will qualify - and employers will also be urged to offer incentives to staff who shed pounds.

Firms would receive tax breaks from the Government and would also some funding to set up slimming or exercise classes.

The move is part of a wider effort to ease the strain placed on the NHS by fat patients.

More than two thirds of UK adults are clinically overweight or obese and the NHS spends £5 billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses.

Under the new plans, NHS staff will also be urged to 'set a national example'.

Access to unhealthy foods on NHS premises will be cut and staff will have their health and wellbeing 'measured'.

Around 700,000 of the NHS's 1.3 million staff are either overweight or obese

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said earlier this year that staff must 'get our own act together' before lecturing the public on cutting down on calories.

He said too many hospitals serve 'chips and burgers' to both patients and staff - and the latter face being banned from eating junk food in hospital canteens to force them to set an example to patients.

Mr Stevens said workplace schemes to encourage weight loss have been largely ignored - despite success abroad.

He personally managed to lose nearly 3st thanks to a weight-loss incentive scheme at his previous job, the U.S.insurance firm United Healthcare.

Mr Stevens said the tax-payer funded NHS has led to a 'blind spot' about the healthcare of employees.

He explained: 'Employers in many countries have developed voluntary schemes for their employees whereby, for example, you actually get cash back based on participation in Weight Watchers, or other type schemes.'

Asked what sorts of rewards could be offered, he said: 'It could be shopping vouchers, it could be cash, it could be prizes.'

It is understood the NHS plans to 'challenge' firms to bring in such schemes rather than offer them money.

The NHS must also make a concerted effort to address the root causes of ill health - such as poor diets, alcohol consumption and smoking, a landmark report published today said,

The weight loss incentive scheme was announced as part of a wider shake-up of the healthcare system in England in the next parliament proposed by NHS bosses.

Other measures include tax cuts for volunteers and 'breaking down the boundaries' between GPs and hospitals.

The report also includes plans to recruit an army of volunteers to help feed elderly dementia patients in hospital or care for them at home.

These members of the public would then get 10 per cent off their annual council tax bill – as much as £200 depending on where they live.

It does not yet specify how much voluntary work would need to be done to be entitled to this benefit or the exact tasks entailed.

为了应对日益严重的国民肥胖危机，英国政府近日出台了一项新的激励计划，提出肥胖者减肥将得到奖励。

根据NHS（英国国民健康保险制度）的这个方案，那些减重的人将会获得现金或者购物券。

奖励根据减多少而有所浮动，尽管减多少尚未明确。

然而，该计划仅适用于有工作的人——政府也要求企业给予减肥员工奖励。

企业将会获得政府给予的税收优惠和资金以用于开设减肥或健身课程。

为减轻肥胖病人带来的沉重负担，NHS做出了巨大的努力，该举动只是其中的一部分。

在英国，超过2/3的成年人都被临床诊断为超重，NHS每年花费50亿英镑治疗与肥胖相关的各种疾病。

该计划要求NHS员工为国民树立榜样。

NHS办公地点将会减少供应不健康的食物，员工还将接受身体健康评估。

NHS130万名员工中约有70万名超重或者肥胖。

NHS的英国首席执行官西蒙·史蒂文斯（Simon Stevens）在今年早些时候就曾说过，NHS的员工们在教化公众减少热量摄入前，必须率先“行动起来”。

他说，许多医院都会给患者和员工供应“薯条汉堡餐”——而为了给患者树立榜样，员工们将被禁止在医院食堂吃垃圾食品。

史蒂文斯称以前在很大程度上都忽视了在工作场所推行减肥激励方案的重要性——尽管这在海外已卓有成效。

他自己本人就成功地减掉过近20公斤，这完全得益于他工作的上一家公司，美国一家保险公司United Healthcare所推行的减肥激励方案。

史蒂文斯说，员工的医疗保健对于由纳税人出资的NHS来说还是一个“盲区”。

他解释道：“许多国家的雇主都已经为其员工制定了自愿健康方案，如公司可以报销你参加慧俪轻体（Weight Watchers）或其它减肥计划的费用。

当被问到奖励形式都有哪些时，他说道：“可能是购物券，或者现金，也可能是奖品。”

这也可以理解为，NHS打算“促使”企业采用上述方案而不是直接奖励钱。

而NHS也必须齐心协力解决引发健康不佳的根源问题——如饮食不良、饮酒、吸烟等，今天发布的一项里程碑式报告中这样写道。

NHS的管理者将在下一次议会中对英国医疗保健制度做一次大的整改，而宣布的这一减肥激励方案只是其中的一部分。

其它措施还包括为自愿减肥者减税，以及“打破普通科医生与医院之间的界限”。

这项报告还提出了招募志愿者的计划，志愿者们将在医院帮忙给老年痴呆患者喂饭或者直接上门去照顾他们。

而这些志愿者们将被减免10%的家庭税——差不多价值200英镑（合1963元），具体视她们的居住地而定。

目前还没有详细说明到底志愿者为这一福利需要做多少工作以及具体工作内容是什么。