…because they think education is the answer.
And while I am a big fan of education, I am pretty sure that the majority of us know that:
- Exercise is healthier than watching tv
- Vegetables are healthier than pizza
- Meditation is healthier than obsessing over that idiot who cut you off in traffic
- Drinking a glass of wine with dinner is healthier than downing a bottle by yourself
- Socializing with friends is healthier than being a loner
- Stretching tight muscles is healthier than sitting all night after sitting all day at work
We already know this stuff…..and yet, we eat junk food, watch too much tv and barely get any exercise.
EDUCATION IS NOT ENOUGH
Education by itself didn’t reduce the number of smokers.
It took education + higher taxes + municipal bylaws restricting public smoking + a whole lot of shaming from non-smokers who finally felt empowered enough to tell someone to butt out.
And if we want to reduce the healthcare costs attributable to poor lifestyle choices – obesity, diabetes, heart disease, alzheimers, cancer, etc…. we need to do more than education.
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Doug, this is a good article, and I largely agree. Education as a persuasion tactic absolutely sucks......and it always has. For whatever reason, people always harp on education as being the answer, but the cognitive arithmetic doesn't really add up.
It's an interesting question, and I think sheds light on how people really feel about the behavioral capabilities of humans.
I've always enjoyed working out and feeling healthy, and don't need any help to get moving. My sister is a personal trainer, and she tells me her clients more or less want a gentle Nazi by their sides to keep them doing the right thing.
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