NHS could pay obese people £400 to lose weight in 'cash incentive'

NHS could pay obese men £400 to lose weight after a trial found men were more likely to slim down if motivated by a cash prize from the NHS in exchange for receiving weight loss messages and hitting weight loss targets.

Patients could win £400 if they lost 10 per cent of their body weight in a year but cash was deducted for missing target weights at three, six and 12 months. The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity, saw 585 men in Bristol, Glasgow and Belfast lose an average of five per cent and get paid £128.

Trial leader Dr Pat Hoddinott, from the University of Stirling in Scotland, said: "Our research showed that offering cash incentives was a popular and effective way of helping men to lose weight. The weight loss was greater than for a lot of the behavioural weight management services that are currently offered across the UK.

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“Those tend to be very intensive, and men told us it was important to make it easy because they didn’t have a lot of time in their lives.” The trial was aimed at men because they are less likely to attend or stick with traditional NHS slimming groups.

It was funded by the government. Dr Hoddinott added: “It is difficult to lose weight, and it’s not easy to sustain. As a GP I saw that all the time so that’s why I wanted to design something that was easier for the NHS.”

Research shows the NHS spends an average of £979 to £1,375 per year looking after an obese patient. Jane DeVille-Almond, from the British Obesity Society, said: “This is exciting news, and we definitely need an easy and cost-effective way for society to lose weight.

“Men are a particularly difficult group to engage in our healthcare system, so texts and financial incentives are a great way forward.”