Dubai government’s contest to make its citizens healthy

The Dubai government’s contest to make its citizens shed their avoirdupois is truly worth its weight in gold, but will the winning losers have the mettle to not pile the pounds back on, having pocketed their glittering rewards? The prospect of gaining a gram of gold for every kilo lost is not an offer that Dubai’s residents should take lightly, more so as the scheme has been launched to coincide with the fasting time of Ramzan. As Dubai devotes a mere 3.7% of its budget to medical care, this may be the best way for its health initiatives to strike gold. However, with a per-capita GDP of nearly $50,000 a year, Dubaians might deem the pickings too slim.

With official gold reserves of nearly 560 tonnes and only 3% of Indians deemed obese — most of them in the metros —the Indian government should not have much to lose by launching such a gilt-edged scheme here. Considering Indians’ appetite for gold has not been known to diminish, this could be the best way to induce them to marry health with wealth. Indeed, if the minimum (over)weight required to qualify to enrol in the contest is reasonable, gutsy brides-tobe in particular could sign up to make pre-wedding loadshedding a gainful activity. But the caveat included in the Dubai offer must be imposed here too: no “unhealthy” method to lose those golden kilos.