Midlands city pilots scheme to encourage healthier living

PEOPLE in Wolverhampton will be given free cinema tickets, shopping vouchers and theme park entry if they boost their exercise levels and improve their diets as part of a scheme that may be rolled out nationally.

All adults in the city have been invited to sign up for the trial, which will allocate them a fitness tracker linked to an app that rewards them for increasing their step count and eating more fruit and vegetables.

The Government will launch the sixmonth pilot scheme in the city early next year.

Under the first trial, those who make positive changes to their lifestyle will be awarded points they can cash in for a range of rewards such as gym passes, as well as vouchers for clothes and food shops.

Wolverhampton has been chosen for the first scheme because of the high levels of inactivity and poor diets among its population.

The £3 million trial is part of a £100million package of government measures to tackle obesity, which, with related diseases, is estimated to cost the NHS £6 billion a year.

The UK has one of the worst records on obesity in Western Europe, with two in three adults either overweight or obese and one in three children in those categories by the time they leave primary school.

Sajid Javid, the Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “This pilot is an exciting opportunity to see how we can empower people to make healthy changes to their lifestyle and I would encourage all adults in Wolverhampton to come forward and register their interest.”

Sir Keith Mills, the entrepreneur behind the Air Miles and Nectar points loyalty schemes, has been brought in to advise Whitehall on the schemes, which will attempt to “nudge” millions of people into making healthier lifestyle choices.