Solution for the obesity crisis

Two months before the end of the school semester, my 11-year-old grandson was apparently struggling (I thought), with D grades in every subject. No amount of inspiration or coercion seemed to work. So, I did the unthinkable: I bribed him. He would get $10 for every A and B on his final report card. Well, I was shocked (and much poorer) when he ended up with all A's and B's. He was very happy, since he wanted a new video game. I asked him how he did it. "Oh, it was simple," he replied, "I turned in all my homework." Little did I know that bribery may solve the obesity problem, as well. According to Eric Finklestein, a health economist with RTI International, a non-profit research company in Research Triangle Park, N.C., money motivates people to slim down, reports USA today. Finklestein teamed up with researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to recruit more than 200 overweight or obese employees in North Carolina. Participants were not given a structured diet or fitness program, and a third got no financial reward for weight loss after three months. But a third was told they would receive $7 for every 1 percent drop in body weight, and a third was promised $14 for every 1 percent decrease. Three months later, those who got nothing lost an average of two pounds. Those in the $7 group lost three pounds, and the group promised $14 lost five pounds each. According to Finklestein the price of obesity at a company with 1,000 employees is about $285,000 a year in increased medical costs and absenteeism, which leads to higher health care premiums. Will employees get on board if they are bribed to lose weight? I don't know, but I've been eyeing the most perfect designer dress -- just in case. Source: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Financial Incentives on Weight Loss USA Today Money motivates people to slim down