There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but the overweight in Mexico City will be glad to hear there is such a thing as a free subway ride.
Concerned health officials in the Mexican capital hope to get residents in shape by offering free journeys in return for them burning a few extra calories.
From Monday, dozens of stations in the city's metro system have been equipped with special machines that, in exchange for 10 squats, will tell passengers how many calories they burned and give them a token for a free ride.
The so-called "health stations" are a novel way for health chiefs to draw attention to Mexico's dismal obesity levels.
According to official figures, 70 percent of adults and nearly a third of children are overweight or obese, surpassing even the United States.
"Levels of excess weight and obesity concern us greatly. For me, it's the number one public health problem," the capital's health secretary Jose Armando Ahued Ortega said as he introduced the project, devised by leftist mayor Miguel Angel Mancera.
Thirty squat-counting machines have been installed across the city, which will also hand out pedometers to the first 80,000 users to help them track their energy output.
With more than five million daily users, the subway is a vital means of transport in the megalopolis.
Metro tickets in December 2013 went up from three to five pesos ($0.20 to $0.34), generating fierce criticism from commuters in a country where the minimum wage is 70 pesos a day.
Explore further: Moscow metro's Wi-Fi revolution as city gets wired
© 2015 AFP
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Moscow metro's Wi-Fi revolution as city gets wired
Dec 07, 2014
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin built Moscow's spectacularly beautiful metro as an example to the world, a symbol of "radiant Communist future".
Mexico City bets on tap water law to change habit
Jan 24, 2014
"Drink the water." It's a suggestion alien to Mexico City residents who have long shunned tap water in favor of the bottled kind and to the throngs of tourists who visit the city each year, bringing with ...
Mexico food labeling rules draw fire on sugar
Apr 21, 2014
Mexico's new food labeling rules were supposed to help fight an obesity epidemic, but activists and experts said Monday they may actually encourage the public to consume high levels of sugar.
Toyota, Grenoble set stage for test in ride-sharing
Sep 14, 2014
Toyota is testing ride-sharing. As simple as that may sound, the experiment indicates an innovative model for the future of urban transportation. The Grenoble metro area could turn out to be the trial stage ...
Mexico: French baby first measles case in 4 years
Jul 22, 2011
(AP) -- Mexican health officials say a French baby girl who recently flew in from Paris is Mexico's first case of measles in four years.
Recommended for you
New Canadian guideline to help prevent and manage adult obesity
16 hours ago
A new guideline from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care to help prevent and manage obesity in adult patients recommends body mass index measurement for both prevention and management and structured behavioural ...
Optimal gestational weight gain in obese moms may vary
Jan 23, 2015
(HealthDay)—For some obese women, gestational weight gain (GWG) below that recommended in the current guidelines may be advised to reduce the risk of certain adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to research ...
Hunger hormone in infancy may link to lifelong obesity risk
Jan 20, 2015
Our subconscious motivation to eat is powerfully and dynamically regulated by hormone signals. The gut-derived hormone ghrelin is one such key regulator, promoting appetite through its effects on neurons ...
Obesity more expensive to treat than smoking
Jan 19, 2015
(HealthDay)—Annual health care expenses are substantially higher for smokers and the obese, compared with nonsmokers and people of healthy weight, according to a report published online Dec. 24 in Public He ...
Experts recommend weight loss drugs, surgery as supplement to lifestyle interventions
Jan 15, 2015
The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on strategies for prescribing drugs to manage obesity and promote weight loss.
A fatty acid used to decode weight control
Jan 15, 2015
Obesity can be described as an excess of fat leading to metabolic diseases and adipose tissue has a pivotal role in obesity and its related complications.
User comments
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more
Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but the overweight in Mexico City will be glad to hear there is such a thing as a free subway ride.
Concerned health officials in the Mexican capital hope to get residents in shape by offering free journeys in return for them burning a few extra calories.
From Monday, dozens of stations in the city's metro system have been equipped with special machines that, in exchange for 10 squats, will tell passengers how many calories they burned and give them a token for a free ride.
The so-called "health stations" are a novel way for health chiefs to draw attention to Mexico's dismal obesity levels.
According to official figures, 70 percent of adults and nearly a third of children are overweight or obese, surpassing even the United States.
"Levels of excess weight and obesity concern us greatly. For me, it's the number one public health problem," the capital's health secretary Jose Armando Ahued Ortega said as he introduced the project, devised by leftist mayor Miguel Angel Mancera.
Thirty squat-counting machines have been installed across the city, which will also hand out pedometers to the first 80,000 users to help them track their energy output.
With more than five million daily users, the subway is a vital means of transport in the megalopolis.
Metro tickets in December 2013 went up from three to five pesos ($0.20 to $0.34), generating fierce criticism from commuters in a country where the minimum wage is 70 pesos a day.
Explore further: Moscow metro's Wi-Fi revolution as city gets wired
© 2015 AFP
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Moscow metro's Wi-Fi revolution as city gets wired
Dec 07, 2014
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin built Moscow's spectacularly beautiful metro as an example to the world, a symbol of "radiant Communist future".
Mexico City bets on tap water law to change habit
Jan 24, 2014
"Drink the water." It's a suggestion alien to Mexico City residents who have long shunned tap water in favor of the bottled kind and to the throngs of tourists who visit the city each year, bringing with ...
Mexico food labeling rules draw fire on sugar
Apr 21, 2014
Mexico's new food labeling rules were supposed to help fight an obesity epidemic, but activists and experts said Monday they may actually encourage the public to consume high levels of sugar.
Toyota, Grenoble set stage for test in ride-sharing
Sep 14, 2014
Toyota is testing ride-sharing. As simple as that may sound, the experiment indicates an innovative model for the future of urban transportation. The Grenoble metro area could turn out to be the trial stage ...
Mexico: French baby first measles case in 4 years
Jul 22, 2011
(AP) -- Mexican health officials say a French baby girl who recently flew in from Paris is Mexico's first case of measles in four years.
Recommended for you
New Canadian guideline to help prevent and manage adult obesity
16 hours ago
A new guideline from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care to help prevent and manage obesity in adult patients recommends body mass index measurement for both prevention and management and structured behavioural ...
Optimal gestational weight gain in obese moms may vary
Jan 23, 2015
(HealthDay)—For some obese women, gestational weight gain (GWG) below that recommended in the current guidelines may be advised to reduce the risk of certain adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to research ...
Hunger hormone in infancy may link to lifelong obesity risk
Jan 20, 2015
Our subconscious motivation to eat is powerfully and dynamically regulated by hormone signals. The gut-derived hormone ghrelin is one such key regulator, promoting appetite through its effects on neurons ...
Obesity more expensive to treat than smoking
Jan 19, 2015
(HealthDay)—Annual health care expenses are substantially higher for smokers and the obese, compared with nonsmokers and people of healthy weight, according to a report published online Dec. 24 in Public He ...
Experts recommend weight loss drugs, surgery as supplement to lifestyle interventions
Jan 15, 2015
The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on strategies for prescribing drugs to manage obesity and promote weight loss.
A fatty acid used to decode weight control
Jan 15, 2015
Obesity can be described as an excess of fat leading to metabolic diseases and adipose tissue has a pivotal role in obesity and its related complications.
User comments
Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more
Click here
to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
0 comments:
Post a Comment