Question of the week

The Wall Street Journal Health Blog's question of the week asks whether we can force people to make better health decisions by making the healthier option the default option. Some of the examples include making water the default drink on combo meals and automatically scheduling routine screenings such as colonoscopies, rather than waiting for patients to remember to schedule them. You can find the article and intriguing discussion here: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/11/27/to-push-healthier-choices-reset-the-default/.

There is something in us, whether it be human nature or good old U.S. individualism, that rails against anyone telling us what to do. We don't like to be condescended. But at the same time, sometimes we're lazy and we just go with the default decision rather than putting the effort into making an alternative decision. Maybe making the healthy decision the default decision would do some good. After all, it is in the public interest if we can improve the health of the population. But what limits on our freedom to make unhealthy choices are we willing to implement? Is making the healthy choice the default choice even a limitation at all?