After writing some intial thoughts about the incentive program initiated by the mayor of Varallo and the potential implications if implemented on a larger scale in Canada, I began to wonder what the possible success rate of such a program might be.

Mike Howard on the Diet Blog poses some interesting initial questions to consider about this incentive program. I also wondered about these questions and have finally come up with some good reasons why I like this program along with some areas that could possibly be improved on.

Why I like this program:

The health benefits that accompany weight loss are undisputable. The list of health benefits range from decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. to increased lifespan; which all adds up to increased quality of life. Who can argue with that?

The requirement of maintaining the weight loss for a period of 5 months supports the general school of thought that it takes at least 3 weeks for an activity to become a habit. Assuming that people are losing weight and maintaining the weight loss through a variety of healthy lifestyle changes, once the 5 months is completed, their healthy lifestyle changes will no longer be just changes, but will have become part of their daily life.

Finally, I’d be lying if I said that the financial reward wasn’t a welcome bonus. As much as adults may like to think that they have outgrown their childhood need for immediate reward, I highly doubt that any individual would turn down such a reward. Some of us may say that the financial reward is unnecessary and that we maintain our health for personal health benefits. If this is the case, then all the power to you! But if someone was willing to recognize you for your efforts, would you really turn them down?

Where I think this incentive program could improve:

By setting a fixed amount of expected weight loss (4 kg for men and 3 kg for women), the program excludes a large segment of the population including those individuals who already maintain a healthy weight through healthy lifestyle activities. Shouldn’t these individuals also receive recognition for their efforts?

Also, for those individuals who may need to lose more weight in order to be considered within the healthy weight range, these fixed numbers may imply that no further weight loss is required to reap full health benefits. One way to address this issue may have been to state a weight loss requirement of at least 10% of an individual’s initial weight. By requiring weight loss of a certain percentage, you ensure that individuals are able to tailor their weight loss so that they will indeed benefit from their individual efforts.

A measurement method that takes into account the fact that all individuals are different would be to require individuals to acquire a Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 19 and 24. This measurement takes into account the fact that individuals of different heights may have different weight requirements.

Another measurement method that would be more accurate while also moving the focus away from the scale is to measure body composition. In my opinion, this is the best, but also most complicated, option. Body composition essentially moves away from the scale completely and measures the percentage of body fat to lean body mass. By measuring body composition, the emphasis is less about what the scale says, and more about whether your body is mostly made up of the healthy lean body mass rather than the unwanted fat mass.

The last caveat that I hate to even mention, is the possibility that people may choose unhealthy methods to obtain intial weight loss and then to maintain that weight loss throughout several months. Weight loss supplements and overnight miracles are marketed to us so many times a day they are hard to ignore. The easy answer to a monetary reward may be too difficult to pass up.

Finally, an important part of changing one’s lifestyle is to ensure that you are doing it properly and without potential self-harm. For this reason, I need to include the importance of seeing a healthcare professional BEFORE you embark on the road to a healthier lifestyle. Your healthcare professional will be able to identify areas of concern and ensure that all of your efforts are not for naught.

Without knowing the details of Varallo’s incentive program, it would be presumptuous of me to say that their program will fail. I am sure that some careful consideration went into the development of this plan and that they have covered all of the points above.

It would be misleading to look at the two lists above and conclude that my list of possible areas of improvement outweighs what I actually like about the program. I think this was an incredibly creative and most likely effective program at bringing awareness and motivation to the general public.

It is innovative programs such as this that I believe will be integral in reaching the general population and provide learning opportunities and tools for people to become self-sufficient and responsible for their own lives.

Now what will we come up with next?