Ballookey

News flash: To anyone who may not have noticed that I have an aversion to posting incessant MySpace-style self portraits, I’m a fat chick. I don’t like it, but that’s the way it is.

As a fat chick, I’m a little surprised at all the vitriol directed at Whole Foods over their new discount program. They offer a standard 20% discount to their employees across the board, but now they’ve added additional discounts for those who meet certain benchmarks for health. (BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol level, and non smoking)

I get that these measures can be somewhat arbitrary, and some people will never be able to meet the minimum level for an extra discount, but this is exactly the way these incentives should be created. I WISH I had something like this at my job.

To be sure, I’d probably still be a fat chick. I don’t seem to be terribly successful at getting everything together at once. One time, I was doing really well at diet and exercise – and then my husband got hit by a car. Hopefully I get back on the wagon eventually.

But things like this are a great encouragement to try. And it’s not a negative reinforcement, or punishment, or penalty. They’re not taking anything away from anyone. They’re not hitting anyone with a stick, they’re dangling a carrot. Which if you ask any behavioral specialist or economist, is how you’re supposed to do it. People learn to live with penalties for bad or lazy behavior so penalizing unhealthy behavior is not the way to tackle weight for most folks. But what people will do, is TRY to attain an award for good behavior. Not all will reach it, but all will be better for trying.

I know, I know. The Whole Foods CEO is a dick. But separate from that issue, this is a good thing. People who argue otherwise…well, I just don’t know what you want.

Link to a typically cranky (but blessedly brief) article about above-referenced WF thing:

Whole Foods Finds Way To Make Overweight Folk Feel Even More Self-Conscious – The Consumerist.