Too Fat to Ride in NY?

In a blog post that I wrote in October called Junk Food in NY Hospitals?, I discussed Mayor Bloomberg of New York City and his goal to ban unhealthy foods in hospitals. As Mayor, he has focused a lot on improving health of citizens including banning soda. One of his newer initiatives is instituting a bike-share program throughout the city that would allow anyone to rent a bike. This seems like a great idea to not only keep people in shape but also does not harm the environment. Overall, I have no problems with this program except for the weight restriction.

I read an article that described the criticism that Bloomberg is receiving for the restrictions on the program. He says that anyone over 260 lb is not allowed to rent a bike. It is strange that he would implement this kind of rule if his main goal is to make the population healthier. To me, it is great that someone who is overweight wants to get healthier by riding a bike. This program is not embracing these types of people and would only be catering to those  that are already more in shape. The restriction would be understandable if it were for safety reasons but according to the article, "several bike-shop owners agreed that the weight limit was bogus". But, safety is the upmost priority within a program that is as widespread as this one so I can understand where the Mayor is coming from. I still think that anyone who want to ride a bike should be allowed to do so and that the program should adapt to people of different sizes.

 Some Americans are known to have obesity problems and politicians are striving to make changes in our society to lessen the reach of the epidemic. As I have mentioned before, Mayor Bloomberg is a prime example of a politician who is doing just this. He is so motivated and willing to make changes but needs to rethink aspects of this program in particular. How can he expect Americans to change if their own motivations are not considered?