Alberta Newspaper Says It Fat Shamed Health Minister By 'Mistake'

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by GGG

Wouldn't they slap Olympic athletes as the face of a well designed program or say Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod. Who was the health minister when participation started and how good of shape were they in.

The person in charge of overseeing the development isn't necessarily the face of the marketing campaign.

The Health Minister is the face of the marketing campaign though. It's part of the job.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

The Health Minister is the face of the marketing campaign though. It's part of the job.

Is she? When you receive mail from Alberta Health, or even visit their website, is it her that you see?

If you showed her picture to 100 random strangers, do you think that even 5 would be know who she is?

She's a manager and a bureaucrat, not on a Wheaties box.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

The Health Minister is the face of the marketing campaign though. It's part of the job.

So who was the health minister for participation or body break?

I have no clue but I remember the participaction slogan and song and specific body break clips

[PsYcNeT]

Now I'm imagining the government rolling out a new exercise initiative for like, children's schools or something, and a bunch of parents protesting by sitting their kids out of principle because the health minister is fat.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Is she? When you receive mail from Alberta Health, or even visit their website, is it her that you see?

If you showed her picture to 100 random strangers, do you think that even 5 would be know who she is?

She's a manager and a bureaucrat, not on a Wheaties box.

Show her picture to 100 people and ask them "Would you ask this person for health advice" and "Would you trust this person to make decisions that can affect your health" and you'll probably get very few people responding in the positive.

People need to be being told that obesity is not ok and that it is a serious illness, having an obese health minister doesn't help that and creates the risk that an anti-obesity campaign suggested by AHS workers would hit a roadblock at the ministerial level.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by GGG

Wouldn't they slap Olympic athletes as the face of a well designed program or say Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod. Who was the health minister when participation started and how good of shape were they in.

The person in charge of overseeing the development isn't necessarily the face of the marketing campaign.

Absolutely they are.

If a CEO announces a cost cutting initiative and then gets in his private jet or continues to take home his 10 million dollar salary with no changes to his lifestyle and then says "Oh, I didn't mean that I would have to do it too".

Yes, that will affect the adoption rate of the new initiative. Plenty of business case studies on culture changes and adoption rates. Universal consensus is that it needs to be driven top down.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

Show her picture to 100 people and ask them "Would you ask this person for health advice" and "Would you trust this person to make decisions that can affect your health" and you'll probably get very few people responding in the positive.

Those are dumb, leading questions.

The question should be "Would you trust this person to effectively manage a government office that dictates laws, licensing, oversight, compliance and regulation related to hospitals, clinics, physicians, and nutrition?

Wait sorry for wasting your time, you can't tell how effective this person is at any of that from a picture. I'm an idiot, brb killing myself."

[Weitz]

Today I learned that image means nothing in this world.

[Slava]

So....any actual progress on waiting times? Sorry to take this off-topic from the deflection.

[CaptainCrunch]

Nope still horrible.

[PsYcNeT]

If you guys really are this shallow you should be head over heels that we have a model as PM now.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Now I'm imagining the government rolling out a new exercise initiative for like, children's schools or something, and a bunch of parents protesting by sitting their kids out of principle because the health minister is fat.

Please evaluate these 2 statements and select which would most likely get you involved in the new "Psycnet fitness program".

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. It works."

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. By modelling this initiative myself and doing activities such as biking, running and going to the gym, I've been able to lose 25 pounds in the last 6 months. I am living proof it works."

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Please evaluate these 2 statements and select which would most likely get you involved in the new "Psycnet fitness program".

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 of physical activity per day minutes per day. It works."

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 of physical activity per day minutes per day. By modelling this initiative myself and doing activities such as biking, running and going to the gym, I've been able to lose 25 pounds in the last 6 months. I am living proof it works."

Ask yourself if this has ever been used in the history of forever to get buy-in for a government program. She's not Tony Horton trying to sell people on P90X.

Shaun T for Health Minister!

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Please evaluate these 2 statements and select which would most likely get you involved in the new "Psycnet fitness program".

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. It works."

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. By modelling this initiative myself and doing activities such as biking, running and going to the gym, I've been able to lose 25 pounds in the last 6 months. I am living proof it works."

The second one sounds like a weight loss infomercial.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

If you guys really are this shallow you should be head over heels that we have a model as PM now.

If Justin wanted to give a speech on his eating habits, exercise regime and hair products, it probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

If you guys really are this shallow you should be head over heels that we have a model as PM now.

It has nothing to do with being shallow. There are a lot of attractive people that are over weight. And a lot of skinny people that are unattractive. I actually felt I looked better and younger at 250. And yes, the headline of the article was horrible, and an attempt at public shaming.

All of that though, doesn't change the fact we should be encouraging people to live healthy lifestyles and maintain a healthy weight and diet. Being obese is bad for you. Full stop. And if that scientific fact hurts anyone's feelings, that's just life. Sorry.

I full heartedly disagree with this movement of accept the skin your in as being the better way if that skin is housing a clinically obese individual. If you are putting yourself at massive risk for heart disease, diabetes, and a billion other ailments because as a result of accepting that mantra, then you are getting bad advice. It's no different in my eyes than smoking. Nobody has a problem criticizing smokers choices. The way they stink. The yellow teeth etc.... Yet you are off side if you tell someone to stop shoveling baconators down their gullet? It makes no sense to me why one form of criticism is ok, and he other isn't.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Please evaluate these 2 statements and select which would most likely get you involved in the new "Psycnet fitness program".

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. It works."

"I am introducing a new adult exercise initiative of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. By modelling this initiative myself and doing activities such as biking, running and going to the gym, I've been able to lose 25 pounds in the last 6 months. I am living proof it works."

If I pick option 2 doesn't that mean I need an overweight/obese health minister to create the program and then lose weight by following it. As the former Olympic athlete health minister has always been in great shape. So what your proposing is that health ministers should be unhealthy when they get appointed then by following their revised programs get healthier as they go along so they are an inspiration to us.

I sure hope the health minister has better things to do then be the face of the role out of the healthy eating campaign. I assume she hired a marketing company that was qualified to brand the most effective way to role out the program.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by pylon

It's no different in my eyes than smoking. Nobody has a problem criticizing smokers choices. The way they stink. The yellow teeth etc.... Yet you are off side if you tell someone to stop shoveling baconators down their gullet? It makes no sense to me why one form of criticism is ok, and he other isn't.

Given the extremely addictive qualities of nicotine, I frankly have more sympathy for people who smoke than people who eat Wendy's and pizza five times a week. But there are more overweight people in Canada today than smokers, so one is regarded as a blameless struggle while the other is a contemptible vice.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by pylon

It has nothing to do with being shallow. There are a lot of attractive people that are over weight. And a lot of skinny people that are unattractive. I actually felt I looked better and younger at 250. And yes, the headline of the article was horrible, and an attempt at public shaming.

All of that though, doesn't change the fact we should be encouraging people to live healthy lifestyles and maintain a healthy weight and diet. Being obese is bad for you. Full stop. And if that scientific fact hurts anyone's feelings, that's just life. Sorry.

I full heartedly disagree with this movement of accept the skin your in as being the better way if that skin is housing a clinically obese individual. If you are putting yourself at massive risk for heart disease, diabetes, and a billion other ailments because as a result of accepting that mantra, then you are getting bad advice. It's no different in my eyes than smoking. Nobody has a problem criticizing smokers choices. The way they stink. The yellow teeth etc.... Yet you are off side if you tell someone to stop shoveling baconators down their gullet? It makes no sense to me why one form of criticism is ok, and he other isn't.

I would agree that obesity is a health concern. The questions becomes whether shaming is an effective way of fighting it. The success rate of people losing and keeping off weight is abysmal. We know there is a psychological / depression aspect in many people's issues.

The question we should be asking is what is the most effective way to get people to lose and keep off weight. If shaming people and having fit health ministers turns out to be the most effective way then sign me up. I suspect that isn't the case.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Seems like a good place as any to post this:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...line-1.3921866

"In the not too distant future, Albertans will be able to book a medical appointment, track their cholesterol level, or check their blood tests in a new patient health portal through Alberta Health Services.

Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says the new system is intended to put more power into patient hands.

"Getting results from their lab tests to making sure they (patients) know that a referral has been received by the specialist, that's a piece of technology we're hoping to get into the hands of many Albertans."

She's overweight, must not be doing her job right.

She's also riding on the back of a PC initiative. Your own article notes this project began in 2011, was first piloted in 2013, and has been at least partially developed through money granted by a non-profit funded by the feds.