Sometimes one really has to sympathise with the people who run the nations in which we live. On the one hand, most of us would prefer the government not to interfere with the way we eat, drink and generally run our lives, provided we are not actually breaking any laws and doing anybody any harm. The notion of the ‘nanny state’ excites little enthusiasm. On the other, however, there’s the inconvenient fact that we all want and need affordable healthcare – if not for ourselves, for our parents, grandparents and children.
Prevention is not just better than cure. It’s generally cheaper. Healthy citizens can work and pay tax while sick ones take up hospital beds.
We know that obesity and frequent consumption of saturated fats and high-carbohydrate foods are associated with type 2 Diabetes, and heart disease, risks of which are also boosted by consumption of too much salt. And whether we like it or not, we’re now aware that drinking too much alcohol increases the likelihood of liver disease and certain cancers. While there is some controversy over how and why obesity has become as much of an issue as it has – we’re actually consuming less sugar than we were – there’s little doubt that the state is going to want us to reduce its incidence by modifying our and our families’ diets and lifestyle. Today’s obese kids are tomorrow’s sick adults. And somebody is going to have to fund the treatment they will need.
Alcohol is inevitably part of this story. Even if or when we get the men and women in white coats at the WHO to acknowledge that a few drinks a week aren’t going to kill us, they will almost certainly replace the current edict with one that returns to the idea of, say, 10 or 15 units per week, a figure that will still displease many.
But, instead of the job of telling us what and how much we should and shouldn’t eat or drink being left to the doctors and government spokespeople, there’s a high chance of the message being delivered by a very different source.
Your watch says no
First, of course, there’s the smartwatch or fitness band. You don’t have to look far on Reddit chat-threads to find posts from people saying:
“The watch certainly helped me realize the effects alcohol had on me below the surface. Since I was gifted my watch last year my drinking has gone down considerably”.
“I noticed my heart rate would increase by around 20bpm after having alcohol. It's crazy!”
“I gave up drinking on weeknights because my watch confirmed what I could already tell was happening”.
Most of the posts tend to be from people who are quite focused on their fitness, which is hardly surprising because these have been the earliest adopters of this kind of wearable electronics. But smartwatches are going to become more sophisticated and more ubiquitous, and a growing number of people are going to become used to being prompted by them into drinking less.
The supermarket also says no
But there’s another place we are going to be nannyed: the Tesco, Walmart, Carrefour or Lidl store in which we do our weekly shopping.
Last week, at the FT Future of Retail Conference, the chief executive of Tesco, Ken Murphy, said of his company’s Clubcard which is used by 22m UK households, “I can see it nudging you, saying, ‘look, I’ve noticed over time that in your shopping basket your sodium salt content is 250% of your daily recommended allowance.’”
The CEO didn’t specifically say that the Clubcard would give similar advice regarding alcohol, but it is hard to imagine it not doing so.
Tesco customers – like their counterparts who favour other stores – have almost been forced to sign up for the loyalty card which, according to 2023 research by the Grocer magazine, allows them to save over 25% when doing their weekly shopping.
At present, customers are nudged towards buying Clubcard-discounted products by point-of-sale shelf-talkers. In the future, with the help of AI, the card would be far more pro-active and personalised, directing them towards attractively priced products they are likely to want to buy. As well as the ones that will be better for their individual health.
Everyone has to play
Murphy revealed that Tesco had tested the new technology in five stores and it had worked well for the shopper – but reduced revenues for the retailer. The only way for the model to be introduced successfully would be for it – or a version – to be applied by all major players, and that would presumably involve government.
As I write this, I can already imagine the reaction of some readers. There will be the ones who say, “I’ll never have a smartwatch or a retailer loyalty card”, and those who’ll see these developments as yet another move down a slippery slope towards being controlled by Big Brother.
But young people today aren’t as concerned about privacy as their parents. They freely share all sorts of aspects of their lives on social media in return for the fellowship those platforms provide. And they, and many who are not so young, will get the Clubcard because of the discounts, and the watch because of the ever-growing number of features, and they’ll happily invite the nanny into their lives.
The views and opinions expressed in the Devil's Advocate pieces are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the publication. They are intended to provoke discussion and debate. If you would like to offer your own response to this or any other article, please email the editor-in-chief, Anja Zimmer at zimmer@meininger.de.
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