Dubai offers gold to overweight residents who shed pounds

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 18 (UPI) -- Dubai officials announced overweight residents of the emirate are being given the opportunity to win gold by losing weight.

Dubai Municipality said its "Your Weight in Gold" promotion will reward overweight residents with .04 ounces of gold for every 2.2 pounds lost provided they lost at least 4.4 pounds during the event, The National reported Thursday.

Officials said participants who weigh in between 8 p.m. and midnight Friday must be overweight and must commit to abstaining from unhealthy weight loss methods. Medical and nutritional experts will be on hand at the weigh-in stations to advise participants on how best to shed their extra pounds.

Hussain Lootah, director general of the municipality, said the government has not yet determined how much gold will be distributed.

"It depends how much the people are expecting to lose. We have not set a limit," he said.

The final weigh-in for participants will be Aug. 16, Lootah said.

"The more you lose the more you will gain," he said.