Health

No meatballs for you! Italian town to pay residents to lose weight

by Kaitlin | August 13, 2007 at 08:22 am

932 views | 54 Recommendations | 7 comments

According to the EU, about 35% of Italians are overweight--a figure that increases as the country is increasingly flooded with processed and packaged foods. Instead of resting on their (plump) laurels, one small Italian town is fighting back.

Men living in the northwestern Italian town of Varallo will receive 50 euros ($70) for losing 4 kg (9 pounds) in a month, Mayor Gianluca Buonanno said. Women will get the same amount for shedding 3 kg (7 pounds).

If they can keep the weight off for 5 months, they will get another 200 euros ($280), he told Reuters.

The town, which has about 7,500 residents, has already got a few people (including the mayor) onboard. And while the Italians are busy losing weight, some other Europeans should consider a similar action plan; according to the European Commission, Italy has a lower BMI (Body Mass Index) than many other European countries.

Malta - 26.6
Greece - 25.9
Finland - 25.8
Luxembourg - 25.7
Hungary - 25.6
Cyprus - 25.6
Lithuania - 25.5
Slovenia - 25.5
Denmark - 25.5
UK - 25.4
Italy - 24.3
France - 24.5
Austria - 24.8
Poland - 24.8
Netherlands - 24.9
Slovakia - 25.0
Belgium - 25.1
Latvia - 25.1
Estonia - 25.2
Czech Rep - 25.2
Body Mass Index figures

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Fairyland1

at 09:30 on August 13th, 2007

What a great idea. I can't seem to lose weight on my own, I think money would be quite a good motivator. It will be fun to follow this story and see how much weight they lose as a group and also individually.

PEP

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:56 on August 13th, 2007

Kaitlin, I really liked how you interwove additional information throughout this.

Getting paid to lose weight sounds great. Does anyone know what the BMI is for the U.S.?

kkaefer

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:09 on August 13th, 2007

Interesting idea... but I don't think it's possible to extend that to a whole nation. The bureaucracy would be way too much...

denseatoms

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:33 on August 13th, 2007

Kaitlin, m'hai convinto che facesti il lavoro -- è autentico. Ecc.
(Kaitlin, you've convinced me you've done the work. Etc.)

Interesting, unusual story and -- as PEP said -- nice interweaving of the material. And the weight chart is fascinating. I looked at some Maltese recipes to see why those people top the BMI chart: try this link.