Okay, so I was reading this really interesting discussion on Reddit about a potential new initiative in Switzerland. The whole thing started with someone sharing a news article – basically, there’s a group trying to get a law passed where doctors could actually prescribe fitness training to people. If it goes through, healthcare would cover all your gym expenses. Pretty wild idea, right?
The reaction was a real mixed bag. A lot of people thought, on the surface, it’s a fantastic concept. The most upvoted comment, by a huge margin, pointed out that since so many diseases are just symptoms of a lack of exercise, it makes perfect sense to treat the root cause. It’s preventative medicine. Others chimed in about the massive obesity problem and the huge mental health benefits – exercise being a buffer for depression, anxiety, you name it. There was a sense that, yeah, this could be a proactive way to save a ton of money and suffering down the line.
But then the skepticism kicked in. The biggest concern, which got a ton of traction, was about motivation and waste. One of the top comments argued that the issue isn’t usually money – if someone really wanted to exercise, they could run or do bodyweight workouts for free. The fear is that it would just become a handout to gym owners, with people signing up, never going, and wasting public funds, just like they waste their own money on unused memberships now. Someone joked that the business model of a gym *relies* on people not showing up. The suggestion was that if you’re going to do this, you’d need a smart system – maybe only covering costs for high-risk groups, or only paying if people actually attend a certain number of times per month, tracked by their gym card swipes.
The conversation took a funny turn into gym culture, especially comparing Switzerland to the US. Swiss users explained that their gyms are super expensive – like $950 to $1400 a year – but that price includes constant access to professional trainers who help with form, programs, and nutrition, all without hard-selling private sessions. Americans were kinda shocked by this model; over here, we’re used to cheap, unsupervised gyms or trainers who are mostly trying to sell you expensive packages. A few people shared stories of rare American gyms that operate like the Swiss model, and everyone was like, “I want to go to *that* gym!” It led to a whole sidebar about cost of living in Switzerland, with higher salaries balancing out those crazy gym prices.
There was also a really poignant thread about the deeper, systemic issues. One user shared a story about their diabetic, amputee mother on a dozen prescriptions, saying all of it could have been prevented with diet and exercise years ago, but now it’s too late. The somber takeaway was that it’s more profitable to treat symptoms than cure diseases. Another person, who seemed to be in healthcare, gave a heartbreaking rundown of why telling an obese patient to “just exercise” is often futile – they’re fighting against car-centric city design, cheap fast food, billions in advertising, and evolutionary cravings. The problem is societal, not just individual willpower.
Of course, the meme crew showed up. Someone imagined a doctor’s visit: “Hmm, yes, you have Tiny Leg Syndrome. I’m prescribing squats, three times a week.” Another added that the side effects include “wobbly-leg syndrome” and can be counteracted with an Rx called “harden the fuck up!”
It got practical, too. A Swiss person noted that many insurers already give a partial reimbursement for gym memberships (like 200 CHF a year), so this initiative would just make it full coverage. Someone from Sweden mentioned they already have “exercise on prescription” for discounts, but at their gym, hardly anyone used it. That fed back into the motivation worry. There was also a lighthearted linguistic detour because in Swedish, German, Portuguese, and a bunch of other languages, the word for “prescription” is the same as the word for “cooking recipe,” which led to some funny confusion.
A few critical voices pointed out that this initiative is being pushed by the Swiss union of gym owners, so of course they’d want it. Others explained the Swiss direct democracy system – basically, any group can force a national vote if they get 100,000 signatures, but most initiatives fail, and this one might just be a publicity stunt that never goes anywhere.
The most nuanced take came from someone who argued it’s a “no, with conditions.” They said average gyms and most doctors aren’t qualified to handle at-risk “special populations” that would need this most. A proper system would need in-house clinical exercise physiologists at doctor’s offices. So the idea is good, but the execution would be really tricky.
So, in the end, the vibe was… cautiously optimistic but deeply pragmatic. Everyone loves the *principle* of treating exercise as medicine. But there’s a huge dose of “you can lead a horse to water” realism, worries about cost and effectiveness, and a sense that the real barriers to fitness are often much deeper than just the price of a membership. It’s a cool idea that opens up a much bigger conversation about health, society, and what we’re really willing to invest in prevention.
