BySpook Louw
An app that allows you to ask a question to users within a certain radius
3 years ago
5
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Idea
Spook Louw Apr 01, 2021
Fast food fitness
Image credit: https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20810315/the-worlds-simplest-learn-to-run-program/
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At first, I had an idea for an app that rewards people for working out. Some sort of system that pays you money to reach certain goals. Funding these rewards would be difficult though, I considered organizations like the WHO, but I know the amount of red tape with institutions that big are endless.
Then, I thought, "what is the cause of the horrible obesity in the world today?"
Our diets!
And who's to blame for the worst things we eat? - The fast food outlets all across the globe. McDonald's and KFC have a larger presence in most countries than even the WHO. So, why shouldn't they fund it?
Not only would it be appropriate, as they are a very large part of the problem, but it could also be possible. They are constantly trying to do away with the idea that their food is contributing to the spike in obesity worldwide. So they might just fund something like this as a PR stunt.
So, let's imagine the app, it can be as simple as any stock standard fitness app on the market today. You enter your vitals and it calculates your ideal BMI and creates goals for you to get there. In order to prevent fraud, it might have to be linked with an accurate measuring device, like Garmin (Also a potential sponsor, as they could obviously boost sales if people bought their products for making use of this app.)
When you then achieve these goals you are rewarded, ideally, with money, but seeing as we live in a consumerist world, probably with coupons or discounts.
Still, whatever the reward is, the end result would be the same. More people would be active. More importantly, the right people would be active as fatter people would have more goals to reach than people who are already quite fit.
[1]https://www.news24.com/health24/diet-and-nutrition/news/the-world-is-getting-fatter-and-fatter-20180523
7
Creative contributions
Tax on excess calories within a portion
A tax on excess calories within a portion could fund such rewards. Sure people could buy multiple portions, but then they can't avoid being honest with themselves and understanding the root of the problem. This would effectively mean that people who destroy themselves on purpose pay a reward to those who can muster up self-control to save themselves.
I'm thinking... Maybe it doesn't have to be a government-imposed tax per se. maybe fast food and snack makers could form an alliance and show that they care for the health of their customers. They could come up with a scheme where the cash register doesn't only calculate the price but also calories. Then the total number of calories would be split by the number of people in the group that's buying. Any excess would be marked up in price. Sure, there are easy ways to cheat such a system but this is more about people knowing that they are hurting themselves rather than the company trying to bill them excessively.
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It could grow bigger than just an app
I love the idea! I was thinking about the same thing recently, so I did some research. There are some apps for cycling that paired up with several sponsors and offer discounts for miles you cycle. The problem is that nobody will cycle for a free sample of daily lenses or a 20% discount in a very expensive bicycle shop and on the other hand, nobody will give you a 50% discount on shoes if you cycle 200 miles. There's no benefit for both sides.
I think people need deeper reasons to stick with sports and you are exactly hitting one - diet. People are nowadays more and more interested in what they consume and how healthy they live. They start doing sports, but the diet is the main reason why they usually give up - progress shows no immediate effects if you don't stick to a specific meal plan.
The idea of an app that is sponsored by McDonald's or a similar fast-food chain is brilliant! The only problem is that if they decide to sponsor that, they could also decide to have an app of their own. Actually, not just an app. That could start a big transformation of McDonald's.
What if they:
1) started selling more protein shakes, salads and healthy food products
2) built an app or a feature in an existing app that keep track of your running, cycling, walking or any other sport activities
3) counted spent calories and give you discounts for meals that perfectly fit to your diet plan (like @Darko mentioned)
4) started offering "health life suggestions"
5) opened McDonald's gyms where they also offer only "healthy" products (called McGym's :D)
2) opened "run-ins" where you can just order and pay the protein shake or an electrolyte drink by an app and take it by running into the "run-in" station
It could work and, in my opinion, could conquer the market much easier than a locally-based gyms and fast-food restaurants (like @Shubhankar mentioned). When you already have a network/chain, it's much easier. But with the right approach, Shubhankars last point could be more beneficial, since it targets the smaller businesses.
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Spook Louw4 years ago
I think if McDonald's just suddenly turned around 180 degrees and changed their entire business plan, they'd change the world. Obviously, it's a huge risk, but I really think it could be the best move ever. Imagine the statement that'd make.
Anyway, yes perhaps sponsor isn't the right word. McDonald's would have to buy the app. Same with something like Garmin, they wouldn't sponsor the app, but they might buy it if it's already completely developed.
Another angle could be health insurance companies. They have the money and they stand to benefit from their clients being healthier.
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Discourage fast food consumption as some countries did with tobacco
In the same manner cigarette packages have warnings and are de-labelled in Turkey and Australia, there can be an apps extension or alternate viewer for food ordering apps like UberEats or Glovo that would overlay unhealthy foods with deterring images.
The app would recognize the words like "Coca Cola" or "deep fried" and then, as cigarette packages have photos of people with lung cancer photos, this app would make the Coke can an unpleasant green colour around an image of actual body fat.
Just having images of fat bodies on the packaging would certainly discourage users from indulging in fast food as much. Let alone if you put photos of people who had their mobility taken away due to obesity, limbs amputated because of diabetes, or showing actual photos of fat around organs.
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Spook Louw3 years ago
I think this would be very effective. This would have to (as with cigarettes) be a government-driven initiative and I'm not sure if that would be seen as being prejudiced against people who are overweight, that said, your idea would be for the benefit of public health, a motivation that was adequate for the warnings put on cigarettes in some countries and is based on a very similar concept as the sugar tax imposed in some countries (albeit less subtle perhaps). So it could definitely work.
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Miloš Stanković3 years ago
Spook Louw I'm not familiar with those laws but I don't think that online, on-screen overlays would fall under government restrictions.
Of course, ideally, delabelling could be implemented in real-life as a great part of what makes fast food more addicting than, for example, food trucks is the branded packaging that makes the burgers seem like little presents you get to open. The other one is that fast-food restaurants are so child-friendly and you get hooked from early on. While those cigarette packages in Australia are horror-like.
But it's highly unlikely because cigarette smoke was seen as a problem that affects non-smokers too. Comparing that to the more space and resources overweight people take will be near-impossible especially in this climate where "fat-shaming" is a sin.
So would it be interesting to brainstorm ways of swaying the public outlook on obesity?
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Spending on healthcare as a responsibility of fast food companies
Just as other companies "need" to spend some amount as CSR "corporate social responsibility", fast food companies should spend on healthcare.
I love the idea, @Spook Louw! I also like the idea of coupons.
- I think the coupons can be discounts on gym memberships and other sports or recreational physical activities (paragliding, horse riding, etc.).
- Also, as an example, perfect attendance in a month in the gym can lead to 1 free burger at McDonald's. This will further improve motivation.
- Maybe every fifth outlet of a fast-food chain should be accompanied by a sports or recreational complex in the area. The management of the complex should be the responsibility of the fast-food chain.
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Hardware
Whichever company takes this on could partner with a fitness tracker like Fitbit or Garmin, but they could also create their own hardware solely for tracking the relevant information for their campaign.
Let's say, for instance, you can sign up for McFit and they will then give you a McDonalds tracker which simply records your calories burnt and adds them to your online log on which your rewards are calculated.
It could even be powered with kinetic energy as proposed in the linked idea.
The downside would be that simpler hardware would allow for more cheating, whereas a better system would need a larger budget. This decision would depend on the type of company running the campaign and its goals. If it's a short term marketing scheme, cheap and inaccurate will be fine, whereas if it's a social contribution, they'd need to run it on a comprehensive system.
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MW
Melanie Well4 years ago
I think this is a great input. You do need simple hardware (possibly sponsored by companies such as McDonalds & Co.) to make it affordable for low-income families that often are most affected by obesity.
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Spook Louw4 years ago
Melanie Well Exactly, the participants should ideally not pay for anything, the company running the program could provide the tracker in any form they see fit. If the promotion works as planned they'd be able to make that money back by generating more business, while the customer benefits from being healthier and getting a discount/prize for their efforts.
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Solving the "time for cooking" issue
Hi Spook Louw, the idea is great. I was wondering if the whole business model of fast-food franchises can be applied in the same way in a "fastfit" food production, something a little different from the subway sandwich, considering a person could buy a whole month of food, like 5 meals a day delivered at this person house, the meals will be developed considering a person BMI and calorie consumption for basal energy expenditure. The person can set its goal in the app and then will have the delivery on spot for each daily meals. it increases the complexity for the execution of the idea, however, it will encourage the development of healthy simple and fast to produce recipes and it could solve the problem for those with no time for cooking. It should use simple and cheap products for the reciepes and consider the Macros (Macronutrients: proteins, Carbohidrates and fats) on its preparation.
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Shubhankar Kulkarni3 years ago
Such apps exist. We have this in India - Food Darzee. You need to provide your information like weight, height, amount of daily activity, profession, allergies, likes, and dislikes and they prepare meals for you. They even schedule a weekly call for feedback and assessing the improvements in health.
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Overweight people's rehab and parole
In extreme cases of obesity, the person usually has to stay in a hospital for their own good since it has become a health concern. At that point, it is usually late and the obese person can hardly recover fully. I am suggesting that people who are above a certain BMI should be monitored by the government and booked for free, compulsory sessions in a gym where medical personnel track their progress.
Another way to make obese people do some extra work is to give them fitness trackers (to be worn on the wrist) that make them do a certain amount of work every day. For example, people wearing the trackers will not be allowed to use the elevators but take the stairs. The stigmatization that comes with such a visible marker of being overweight will make people more conscious of their BMI.
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General comments
Povilas S4 years ago
I would think twice about rewarding people with discounts (if fast-food chains would sponsor the app). Then people would lose weight/get fit to get fast food discounts in order to (basically) get fat again. Vicious circle. If they would be rewarded in money, at least they could choose not to buy fast food, but spend it on something wiser instead. Maybe discounts could be for some organic/healthy food shops. But then again - fast-food sellers might not like the latter, because it means losing customers. In fact, they might not like to sponsor such apps at all, when you think about it better, unless the government imposed sanctions on them in such form.
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