Pound for a pound: Paying obese teens up to £550 to lose weight helps them slim down, experts claim READ MORE: Britain's children are now getting SHORTER as well as fatter, report By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 15:08, 20 June 2024 | Updated: 15:33, 20 June 2024 e-mail 4 View comments Paying obese teens to lose weight is not only works but is cost effective, scientists claim. Experts found young patients offered financial incentive to slim alongside low calorie meals lost more mass than those who weren't. At the end of a yearlong experiment American researchers found children offered the cash reduced their body mass index (BMI) by six per cent more, on average, than those put on a diet alone.
Scientists, from a range of American institutions including the University of Minnesota , paid teens £15 for every 0.5 per cent of bodyweight they shed. The most cash handed out was £550 while the average was £260.
They claim their results show the approach is effective and point out the incentives offered amounted to far less than the price of treating obesity. Scientists, from a range of American institutions including the University of Minnesota, paid teens up to $700 (£550) to lose weight, though the average actually handed out was $330 (£260). Stock image Over a million children had their height and weight measured under the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP).
Nationally, the rate among children in Year 6 stands at over a third, despite havi.