Individuals and families in England are being offered £250m worth of free vouchers to help us eat more 'healthily' and exercise more. The scheme, which is called 'The Great Swapathon' is a new phase of the government’s Change4Life campaign aimed at improving the nation's diet and fitness regime. In addition to food vouchers, you can get recipes and nutritional advice, and sign up for subsidised exercise activities in your area.
"It's a great example of how government, the media, industry and retailers can work together to help families be healthy," says Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. “The healthy option isn’t always the cheapest option so it’s a really important step to be able to offer £50 off healthier foods, drinks and activities. Asda is even offering 20 per cent off dining room furniture to encourage families to sit round a table together for meals."
‘The Great Swapathon’ – Free Grocery Coupons
The food vouchers are being paid for by big brands in the food and fitness industry including Nestle, Mars, Asda, Birds Eye, Unilever, Weight Watchers, and Warburton’s. This has raised concerns from food industry experts over whether it's wise to allow big brands to promote their own products as a 'healthy' choice. Cynics have asked if it's just a vehicle to increase brand profile and profits. If the vouchers are only available to spend on certain products, this will not necessarily benefit consumers' health in the long-term. It comes down to consumer choice and whether we will be able to choose what products to buy with our free voucher.
Claim Your Free Food Vouchers
According to news reports from the Department of Health, four million £50 voucher books are available via the News of the World newspaper and from Asda supermarkets, and one million via local businesses that have subscribed to the scheme. To claim your voucher you need to fill in a five minute questionnaire (supply information for marketing) on the Great Swapathon website.
There are 14 questions to answer about you (and your family's) current diet and exercise routine, and once you've done this you will be given a tailor made plan - six 'swaps' (one a week) to encourage you to adopt healthier eating habits. Much of it is commonsense - for example, swapping fizzy drinks for water, milk and fruit juices for a week to gauge how different you (and your kids) feel.
I tried to fill in the questionnaire today but was unable to complete it, as the website has technical errors. It may be over capacity given the recent news report about the scheme but it's frustrating not being able to register after spending time answering the questions. A quick search on news forums reveals similar complaints although some people have managed to complete the questionnaire.
How to Lose Weight Healthily
How successful the voucher bid is will take time to assess. If it does its bit to raise awareness and inspire families to be more active and eat more healthily that's a good start. I'm not sure how brands such as Mars and Nestle equate with healthy eating but if the scheme encourages lower income families to try some new products and activities, it may help kick start some lifestyle changes.
January is a good time to reassess your fitness and lifestyle goals, and make a fresh start for the year but the changes need to be sustainable and long-term to make a difference to our health. It's worth a visit to your local Asda to see exactly what savings you can make on their fresh produce. It has to be better (and healthier) than a Happy Meal at McDonalds.
Resources
'The Great Swapathon' - NHS Change4Life 2011
Related Articles
Cleansing the body - How to detoxify and increase energy levels
Nicci Talbot - Nicci Talbot is a journalist and author specialising in sex, health & wellbeing. She edits Rude Magazine, an online resource for better ...
Join the Conversation