Overweight people have the opportunity to be financially rewarded for their weight loss.

Overweight people are being paid to lose weight through a pilot NHS scheme – with the potential to earn up to £1,750 if they lose weight and keep it off.

To help its overweight patients achieve sustained weight loss, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent has been the first Trust to commission the Pounds for Pounds programme from Weight Wins, at a cost of £185 per patient plus an administration fee. Weight Wins issues the monetary rewards to patients.

Described as being a structured incentive system “like an air miles for dieters” programme, dieters are rewarded for the amount of weight they lose and the length of time they keep it off – those who lose 150lbs over 21 months and keep it off for three months receive £1,750, the highest amount of reward achievable.

To receive this top reward, participants (outside of the NHS scheme) pay a £90 joining fee, along with £20 a month for the length of the programme, up to 13 months.

A waste of money? According to the National Obesity Forum, one in five adults in the UK is officially classed as obese and 31 million classed as overweight – the highest number in Europe – at a cost to the NHS of more than £4 billion every year, and the UK economy £16bn.

Expensive treatments such as weight-loss pills and stomach stapling are not seen as cost-effective options for every patient, and so schemes like these appear to offer the best results for the money.

However, is this initiative unfair to people of a healthy weight? Of course, there is the debate that some overweight and obese people are simply genetically-prone to put on weight, thus relinquishing them of any responsibility for their weight. Yet for those who have chosen to eat a fat-full diet coupled with little or no exercise, surely their return to a ‘normal’ weight should not be rewarded in such a fashion?

Or do you believe that schemes such as this end up paying for themselves, with fewer patients needing treatments for obesity-related illnesses and issues? Add your comments below.

The programme, which conforms to NICE Obesity guidelines, has welcomed around 650 participants so far.