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Medical Travel: Lose Weight in Italy

August 16, 2007 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments

We would never put Italy at the top of our list of countries to visit if we wanted to lose weight (spaghetti bolognese, anyone?!). But it looks like the northwestern town of Varallo, not far from Turin, might be the place to go. That's because the mayor of Varallo has just announced that local residents are going to get paid to lose weight.

This sounds unbelievable, but it's true. In an effort to beat rising obesity, local men who lose 9 pounds and women who lose 7 pounds in a month will get 50 Euros ($68), and a bonus 200 Euros ($272) if they keep the weight off for five more months. So it's kind of a group diet that they get paid for: sounds like a place that will develop some good weight loss strategies. Perhaps Varallo will be the hip new place for some weight loss travel--saving you some Plastic Surgery Travel in the future.

Related Stories:
· Italian Town Pays Residents To Shed Flab [Reuters]
· Italy coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: glynnish]