Sloucher vouchers

City to trial scheme which offers rewards for healthy choices like exercising and eating fruit & veg

THOUSANDS of Britons will be rewarded with free cinema tickets or shopping discounts if they increase their daily step count and eat more healthily.

The Government will pilot a scheme in Wolverhampton next month to bribe adults into getting fit. If successful, it could be rolled out nationwide.

Residents in the city – which has a population of 250,000 – will be offered fitness trackers which measure the number of steps they take.

The wrist-worn devices will be linked to an app which delivers personalised health recommendations. This can include targets to help increase their

‘Help motivate people’

step count and their fruit and vegetable intake. The app will also include a way to monitor people’s calorie intake and food habits, potentially through linking with loyalty cards used by major supermarkets.

Participants will then be able to collect points for healthy behaviours such as going for a jog, buying lots of vegetables or attending a gym class.

These points can be cashed in for various rewards offered by local companies, such as vouchers, free tickets, discounts and gift cards. These could include cinema or theme park tickets and clothing vouchers.

If the £3million six-month trial is successful, the scheme could be expanded across the UK.

Ministers hope the plan will help slash obesity-related illnesses, which cost the NHS £6billion a year. Around twothirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese. Health

Secretary Sajid Javid has urged residents to get involved.

He 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 register their interest.

‘Taking part will help us better understand how rewards can help motivate people to make small adjustments to their daily lives that will have a lasting positive impact on their health.’

The scheme is part of Boris Johnson’s anti-obesity strategy which was launched last year and will also include a ban on junk-food advertising.

The state-run app is spearheaded by Sir Keith Mills, who founded the Air Miles and Nectar customer loyalty programmes. Health tech company HeadUp Systems will run the app and work with other companies to provide the rewards.

Public health minister Maggie Throup said: ‘Wolverhampton is leading the way to develop innovative ways to ensure people can live healthier lives for longer.’

Wolverhampton was chosen to pilot the scheme because one third of its residents are classed as physically inactive and a below-average number of adults eat their five-a-day. Ian Brookfield, leader of the City of Wolverhampton Council, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with the Department for Health and Social Care and HeadUp on this important pilot programme to see if offering incentives can help people make positive changes to improve their health and wellbeing.’

Sir Keith, a health incentives adviser, said: ‘We intend to bring together a range of partners for this pilot programme to help motivate adults to make healthier choices. This is a great opportunity for government, businesses and the local authority to work together to encourage people to take more exercise and eat a healthier diet.’

‘Lasting positive impact’