MP raps NHS diet-for-cash scheme

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A trial which will see an NHS trust offer cash incentives to people to lose weight has been criticised by an MP.

Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust is seeking 300 men and women who will be offered between £70 to £425 for reaching personal weight loss targets.

Fitness specialist Weight Wins, which is helping to run the trial, said more than 150 people had found that cash rewards had helped them to lose pounds.

Ann Widdecombe criticised the move, saying the NHS was short of money.

The MP for Maidstone and the Weald, who has herself taken part in diet challenges, said: "If the NHS had money to spare it would be okay but, the fact is, the NHS is short of money.

"There are plenty of people who cannot get funding to pay for treatment for illnesses.

"We can all control our own weight. If the NHS has to prioritise then this should be at the end of its priorities."

'Healthier lifestyle'

Ms Widdecombe appeared on ITV's Celebrity Fit Club, losing 16kg (36lbs), and once took part in a BBC Radio 5 Live weight loss challenge.

But Claire Martin, public health specialist for the NHS in east Kent, said: "Achieving a healthier weight and encouraging people to choose a healthier lifestyle are major issues for the health service.

"This scheme will be ideal for people who have tried to lose weight before but have found it difficult to make progress.

"We hope this trial will help establish whether financial incentives can motivate people to shed the pounds - and keep them off."

Weight Wins said the size of each person's reward would depend on the difficulty of the targets they set themselves.

The scheme, called Pounds for Pounds, is believed to be the first public trial by the NHS of a weight loss incentive programme.