Author Topic: UK government may start offering financial rewards for becoming healthier  (Read 27123 times)

Davef

Our Real Futurestore (yes, it’s called that) in Tönisvorst was the largest supermarket in Germany when built. It also sells some clothes and large electronic goods, which is unusual for Germany.

The fruit and veg here is roughly in the middle of the store, which is unusual.
This does seem to be a thing with huge supermarkets. Perhaps when you get beyond a certain size the practicality of restocking takes over from the aesthetics.

I thought the milk was at the back
1) To tempt you with all the other goodies &
2) To deter casual theft.

Makes getting the odd pint a pain...

Of interest then is that in my local Asda the milk is close to the fruit and veg in the middle of the store.

Even more peculiar ...

My nearest Sainos is about the same size as Berkshire.
If you walk straight in, you'll be in the clothing/kitchenware/homeware/stationery section.
And Argos, with their laminated book of dreams.
If you deviate to your left, you'll be in the three aisles of the fruit & veg section, where nothing is above shoulder height and you can see over the tops of the shelving (I'm guessing this is  to give it more of an open-air / street market feel) and the lighting has a much cooler colour temperature (closer to daylight) than that of the rest of the shop - doubtless to enhance the vibrant colours, and make more attractive, the fruit and veg.
The milk is in the first proper canyon-like aisle beyond that.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
As mentioned above, in Turkey the dairy products are nearest the entrance, reflecting the importance of dairy products in Turkish culture. So I was memorably told.

The Pandemic era has caused me to switch supermarket shopping habits. Whereas I used to shop mainly at Sainsbosy, I then started going mainly to Coop (smaller, nearer, the one in the studenty area empty, therefore felt safer), later M&S (counterintuitively cheaper than Coop, also not too large) and then discovered Lidl and Aldi. The major difference is with these last two: the aisles are slightly random, though they still have fruit and veg near the entrance, but the shelves are lower and this gives them a much more open feel. (Aldi is a mess, Lidl very tidy – this probably reflects store managers rather than a chain-wide difference – but Lidl has far superior bike parking so is preferred).
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Davef


Quote
I believe obesity rates are marginally higher in rural areas.
Any concrete data on this?

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/191164/obesity-rising-faster-rural-areas-than/

ian

Our Waitrose has a fraught decision – put the fruit and veg at the back where the door to the car park is, or the front where the street access is. You can guess which won, so the fruit and veg is at the rear. Supermarkets have put a lot of (well-researched) effort into pretending to the markets and stores they killed off, so yes, they want you to see the fresh stuff first, but the money is in the packaged and processed. Once they've sold you virtue and pretended they're a friendly, fresh well-stocked market, they quickly move into selling you high-margin 'trinket' food, the whoo-another-flavour-of-crisps effect. Acquisitional novelty.

There's been a big change is how we shop, of course. We drive to a supermarket and fill a car boot with things we want to keep for a week, rather than fresh stuff for the day. If you plan to cook with fresh ingredients, that immediately requires some pre-planning around use-dates, otherwise you end up with out-of-date risky fish and a self-harming courgette by Friday. There's a none-too-suitable push to manufactured products in that. Back when we used to go to the office, we used the buck-the-trend and try and buy for the day (not a cheap option in London admittedly, but far more satisfying to decide what you fancy for tea and popping out at lunch to get the ingredients). Working from home in a town where the supermarkets have killed most of the smaller stores, we're back in weekly shop mode, and honestly, it's grim and soulless, wandering around a warehouse trying to decide what I might want to eat in six days time. And in part, that helps turn food – a major sensory pleasure – into passionless consumption.

Supermarkets paint themselves as a liberators of the customer, but that's another big lie, they are more expensive and offer little actual choice, and force us into purchase and consumption patterns that aren't even close to being in our interest.

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: UK government may start offering financial rewards for becoming healthier
« Reply #306 on: 22 January, 2022, 11:54:05 am »

Seems like an appropriate time for some thread Necromancy:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60081217

Looks like access to some sort of exercise program will be available without needing to bother a GP.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
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