We may not be the fattest nation in the world any longer (Thanks, Mexico), but we still have more than our share of overweight people. We definitely help the weight loss industry make billions by readily forking over our cash for any possible quick trim solution. Yes, we pay billions to get skinny. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone paid US to lose wight? Dubai will…

That’s right. In Dubai, gold is a fat girl’s best friend.

Dubai created the “Your Weight in Gold” campaign, launched July 19, to get their residents to lose their fat. To get the gold, individuals have to lose at least 2kg. Hmm. Is that a typo? That’s less than 5 lbs. Granted, the initiative only runs for a month, but 5 lbs isn’t that much in the greater scheme of fat. Maybe we didn’t do our conversions correctly…

Thousands of people want the gold, and registered for the initiative to get it.

Dubai might seem superficial and vain to some, but its get skinny scheme is for more than just bodily aesthetics. This campaign, concocted by Director General Hussain Nasser Lootah, is not just to help people lose weight, but to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The municipality wants a healthy workforce.

Citizens register at parks, where fitness experts are on hand for consultations. Participants receive a gram of gold for every kilo they lose, with the top three biggest losers set to win the gold equivalent to Dh20,000 each. That’s like over $5,000. Should this posh city in the Middle East make the pariticipants actually keep the weight off for a certain amount of time before forking over the gold?

Should more cities and countries pay people to lose weight?

We wonder, are these individuals taking the campaign seriously or are they crash dieting so they can take the money and run instead of making running a part of a regular exercise routine?

It will be interesting to see how how successful the “Your Weight in Gold” campaign is.

Go for the Gold, Emiratis!

Would the promise of a gram of gold make you lose weight? Tell us what your weight loss motivators are.