Stairway to Health

By Quinn Phillips Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City has long been known for his often controversial efforts to improve the health of New Yorkers — including his successful campaigns to outlaw smoking in restaurants and parks, ban trans fats in restaurants, and require the posting of calorie counts at chain restaurants, as well as his more recent unsuccessful push to limit the serving size of sugary beverages sold by certain vendors. Perhaps to make up for this last defeat — or maybe just because Bloomberg will be Bloomberg — the mayor seems not to be slowing down in his final months in office, announcing yet another initiative aimed at reducing the rate of obesity in New York City. At a news conference last Wednesday, according to an article in The New York Times, Bloomberg announced that he had issued an executive order requiring city agencies to promote taking the stairs and to make stairways more inviting in new construction and renovations. This announcement took place at the kickoff of a new nonprofit group, the Center for Active Design, that will promote strategies to encourage physical activity and access to healthy food in daily life. According to the article, Bloomberg has also proposed bills that would require all new buildings to prominently feature stairways in their design and to put up signs encouraging people to take the stairs. As anyone who has worked or lived in certain office or apartment buildings knows, stairs can indeed be a good...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs