Fit For Funds - Italian Mayor Pays Citizens To Shed Pounds (GALLERY)

If having more energy and extending your longevity isn’t enough incentive, perhaps a little mullah could get your rear in gear. Mayor Gianluca Buonanno is offering residents in the Italian town of Varallo Sesia a major cash incentive to help win the battle of the bulge. After his own son called him “big belly,” Buonanno decided to shape up once and for all, and is asking his citizens to join him. He’s offering 50 Euros to those who can drop 6lbs in a month, and additional 100 Euros for those who keep it off for five months. In order to be eligible, residents must first bring in a doctor’s certificate declaring them overweight.

That’s kind of discrimination in a way. Those who need to gain weight should be offered the same incentive. While half the media is focused on the obesity epidemic, the other half is concerned over too-thin models being poor role models for young girls. Oh the paradoxes of our world.