There are many reasons why people want to shed extra pounds; they want to live a healthier lifestyle, participate in more rigorous activities, boost their self-confidence, etc.  For some, the idea of getting paid to lose weight is the biggest motivator of all.  In the recent past we have heard reports of companies offering their employees incentives like gift cards and cruises if they lost some weight with the idea that in the long run the company will save on health costs if they have a healthier staff.  But, what if a complete stranger offered you cash?

A new independently run website that makes money on advertising and sponsorships, HealthyWage.com, is offering people the chance to sign up for a weight loss challenge with the promise of putting cash in their hands should they succeed in their goals to shed the pounds.  The website relies on corporate sponsors to provide the cash rewards to obese members who succeed in the challenge. 

So far, some 5,000 people have signed up for the challenge through the site.  Members have the choice of either signing up for free and receiving a $100 cash prize if they succeed or putting down a maximum of $300 from their own pockets for a chance to win a higher stakes prize of $1000.  Since people who enter the program must be in the obese range, most of them will have to lose somewhere between 30 and 80 pounds in a 12-month period. 

A recent article from Time magazine featured the website and interviewed one of the participants in the challenge.  Welmoed Sisson, who weighs over 200 pounds, must lose 50 pounds in 12 months to fall into a healthier range and receive her cash prize.  Sisson says, "Sure I’d like to look and feel better, but it is so subjective.  Money is a better motivator because it is so tangible.  You can hold it in your hand."

What do you think of the new website that offers cash prizes for losing weight?

Do you think cash is a good motivator for people to lose the weight?