Well if you get more people to exercise regularly its very likely to have benefits for their health, and could well have cost benefits as well (the exercise would almost certainly have a gross cost benefit, whether there would be a net benefit depends on the costs of the effort, both direct dollar costs and indirect costs).
The main problem with the specific program is that people would likely reject it as too intrusive. Also the program itself would have costs, and would run in to problems like people lying about their exercise and diet, or just telling the truth but not changing their behavior (or making a short term change and then falling back on old habits), then washing out of the program incuring extra costs but getting little or no benefit.
To the extent that people accept it, and by it to it, and go for it, and follow the program and really get more exercise, you could get a lot of benefit, but I'm really skeptical that it would work that way for most people.
Changing people's behavior is a great way to get health and cost benefits, but its really hard to do.
(Edit - Also sometimes when the government, or some private sector organization tries it can get the behavior change wrong, either focusing effort on a minor factor, or even encouraging counterproductive behavior, not that regular moderate exercise is likely to be counterproductive for any but a very very small percentage, but other changes might) |
