BRITS who shed weight in Wolverhampton will be rewarded with cinema tickets and supermarket vouchers.
A government-backed trial beginning today will see couch potatoes download a free app that rewards them for eating veggies and exercising.
The app generates personalised health goals for every user, such as increasing step counts and eating fruit.
Across 20 weeks participants in Wolverhampton will try to score as many goals as possible, collecting points along the way which can be exchanged for freebies.
Sainsbury’s, M&S, John Lewis and Primark are among retailers taking part in the £3 million project.
If the trial is deemed a success the scheme could be rolled out across England.
A report evaluating it is due out early next year.
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Ministers hope incentivising healthy lifestyles will lead to a drop in the number of obese Brits.
And they think in the long-term it will reduce eye-watering NHS waiting lists.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien said: “We are committed to helping people lead healthier, happier lives and the Better Health: Rewards app aims to put people in control of their own health.
“The pilot will test the role that rewards and incentives can play alongside technology in making it easier for people to eat better and increase physical activity and I look forward to seeing the results. If you live in Wolverhampton, please do not hesitate to sign up.”
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Councillor Ian Brookfield, Leader of the City of Wolverhampton Council added: "We are working hard to improve the overall health of everyone in Wolverhampton by providing innovative solutions which can help our residents get more active.
"We are already making significant progress in tackling physical inactivity, improving infrastructure and making environmental changes to enable people to be more active, and we are delighted to be working with the Department for Health and Social Care on this important pilot programme to see whether offering incentives can help people make positive changes to improve their health and wellbeing."
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