Money is key to losing weight

SINGAPORE – Money makes the world grow round and, paradoxically, less round too.

British think-tank Overseas Development Institute has found that, globally, the proportion of overweight and obese people rose from 23per cent in 1980 to 34 per cent in 2008, BBC reported last week. That works out to 1.461billion people.

The bulk of the increase is in developing countries where incomes are rising, which has led to people eating more fat, sugar and meat, and exercising less, the institute noted.

The proportion of obese adults here has risen from 6.9 per cent in 2004 to 10.8 per cent in 2010.

Fortune can help one feast but it can also help one fast.

Research has revealed that a monetary carrot or stick motivates people to shed more pounds.

In a study last year by health group Mayo Clinic in the United States on 100 obese adults, 62per cent of those given financial incentives completed a year-long weight-loss programme, more than the 26 per cent of those whose wallets did not stand to gain.

The first group also lost more weight – 4kg on average – than the other group, which lost only about 1kg.

However, other studies have shown that after people are no longer paid or made to pay, they pile back most of what they had shed. In a 2011 study on 66 obese adults by Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, a group was asked to deposit up to US$3 (S$4) a day. This would be doubled if they hit the weight-loss target and forfeited if they failed.

After eight months, they lost almost 4kg on average, while the other group with no money at stake lost only about 500g. But most of them regained the weight nine months after the programme ended.

Money makes the world go round.

Source: The Straits Times

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Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies