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Comment by bootload | Hacker News Reader

"... The UK has the highest rate of childhood obesity in Europe, with 25% of young people being classified as obese or overweight. The Government’s Foresight report suggests this will only get worse, with 40% of Britons expected to be obese by 2025 ...." [0]

Are these constraints factoring in the long term health benefits & lower health costs?

[0] "Why is school food important?" ~ http://www.jamieoliver.com/school-dinners/

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it's not school food making them fat.

It's parent spending money on highly taxed cigarettes, sports clothes and lottery tickets then moaning that all they can feed their kids is processed shit. Ban cigarettes entirely, stop the lottery and give benefit claimants vouchers rather than cash and health problems will decline instantly.

This comes from experience working in schools (I do part time reading with primary school children). The unhealthy kids with poor education smell of cigarettes and are on benefits WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Not sure about the vouchers idea. You can already get milk vouchers and I've seen people exchange them for things other than milk.

If you look at the supermarkets in the UK, they issue "e-vouchers" which can only be used against certain people. These people are identified by a non-photographic ID card (ClubCard/Nectar). They can easily be replaced with a benefits card with a photo that does the same.

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