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Overweight people will receive cash or gift vouchers if they lose weight – as long as they have jobs.

Under radical NHS plans to tackle the obesity crisis employers will get funding to offer ­incentives for staff who slim down.

But top doctor Clive Peedell said: “This policy will do nothing to help the millions of unemployed and the growing numbers of self-employed people who may need help but won’t qualify.”

Outlining the plans, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens pointed out that such schemes had been a success in America.

He said: “Employers in many countries have voluntary schemes for employees where, for example, you actually get cash back based on ­participation in Weight Watchers or other type schemes.”

Asked what rewards could be on offer, he said: “It could be shopping vouchers, it could be cash, it could be prizes.”

(Image: Getty Images)

He suggested incentives could vary depending on how much weight a worker lost and staff would be challenged to compete with each other.

The NHS, which revealed the plan as part of a shake-up of the healthcare system, already pays for seriously obese patients to go to slimming classes.

But this would be the first time it gets companies to help tackle obesity.

Mr Stevens admitted the NHS would “have to provide” national funding “to get the first employers to do it”.

More than two thirds of UK adults are clinically overweight or obese and the NHS spends £5billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses..

Mr Stevens said urgent action was needed because the crisis was “getting worse in some respects”.

The move to reward workers for losing weight has been suggested before but the NHS chief said the service had been historically “been ­remarkably short-sighted in making these kinds of investments”.

However, critic Dr Peedell, a cancer specialist and leader of the National Health Action party, claimed the money would be better spent elsewhere.

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He added “It also fails to reward people who keep themselves healthy.:

“There are many unanswered questions – which companies qualify? Will there be support to help employees lose weight?

“What if someone puts back the weight having claimed a prize? Will they have to pay it back?

“It fails to address the long-term and crucial issue of keeping the weight off. Just offering cash incentives or vouchers fails to address the reasons people find it hard to lose weight.

“Overweight people need support and advice, not the lure of a reward.” In ­yesterday’s briefing on the NHS plans, Mr Stephens warned obesity among children was “a significant future health threat”.

He said “something is going wrong” as only 10% of children started primary school obese, but double that number were obese by Year Six.

In its Five Year Forward View Report, published today, the NHS aims to address the root causes of ill health bad diets, boozing and smoking.

For example, NHS staff will be urged “to set a national example”. There are plans to cut access to unhealthy products and NHS premises and to “measure” the health and wellbeing of staff.

The report said: “As the nation’s waistline keeps piling on the pounds, we’re piling on billions of pounds in future taxes just to pay for preventable illnesses.”

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