NHS to reward people who walk 30 minutes a day

Yes. And government / city run gyms. It would to be to our benefit to pay people to workout.

As someone who walks 9 hours a day at work, sign me up.

Fuck yeah. I walk everywhere within an hour from me. What's my reward? Cheaper taxes? More back on my tax return? Free Kraft Dinner? Sold.

Maybe, depending on the reward. My doctor says I should exercise more anyway...

Canada had a program like this. It was called Carrot Rewards and it paid you in points for doing health questionnaires and tracking your steps. It was funded by 3 provincial governments (for residents of those 3 provinces). Manulife has a similar program for their insured right now, awarding Aeroplan points.

I walk like 7 hours a day at my job. Do I qualify?

The healthcare system should be focused on preventative care. Exercise and eat well all your life and, statistically, you will have way less health issues. Paying people a small amount to take care of themselves is going to be cheaper than dealing with obesity-induced chronic health issues.

I exercise on a stationary bike for usually at least an hour a day. Does that count?

On weekends I walk for about 15 minutes to reach a place with good matcha. Then I walk for 15 minutes to go back home. If the government paid for my matcha I would quite like that. It could also help convince people to come walk with me to get matcha!

Wish we could get something like this in Australia, even when I'm in the office I still get at least 12k steps On the weekend I'll get 8k before lunch (taking my infant daughter for a walk).

Maybe in places like here in Toronto they can fund it with increased fines for drivers of excessively noisy and/or fast vehicles.