Could paying people to lose weight help tackle obesity?

Analysis and
Health

Financial incentives have helped people with obesity lose weight in trials, but whether the approach is sustainable or cost-effective remains to be seen

By Grace Wade

Nutritious produce can be expensive

Gary John Norman/Getty Images

A growing body of evidence suggests that paying people to lose weight could be an effective treatment for obesity. While this seems to imply that the condition boils down to just lifestyle choices – an idea doctors have moved away from in recent years – it probably isn’t that simple.

Worldwide, 1 in 8 people have obesity, a figure that has more than doubled among adults and quadrupled among teenagers since 1990. Obesity is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer,…

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