Washington (dpa) - John Hamaski tried a lot of things to lose
weight but nothing really worked. The 38-year-old lawyer from San
Francisco began several diets and enlisted in a gym. "It didn't work,
I just stayed fat." Hamaski, who is about five feet tall and weighs
187 pounds, suffered from obesity.
What saved Hamaski just in time was Fatbet.net. In February he and
five friends bet on losing 22 pounds in eight weeks. "I became very
competitive, it was a matter of honor," the Californian says. Every
day Hamaski and his friends had to register their weight on the
website. They also invited their families and other friends to follow
the collective slimming online.
"There was a lot of pressure, I didn't want to be a loser."
Because of the bet Hamaski forced himself to eat a balanced diet and
to exercise six times a week. In the end he actually won the bet. "In
April I was down to 164 pounds."
Hamaski's story is not an isolated case in the United States.
Thousands of Americans use websites like Fatbet.net as an other
option to traditional diet programmes such as Weight Watchers, Atkins
and Slim Fast.
"These bets are working wonders. People don't want to lose and
they really succeed to reduce their weight," believes Fatbet founder
Adam Orkand, 40. Since launching the website in January 2008 about
6,000 users signed up on Fatbet.net. Most of them are successful: 80
per cent win their bets by losing a few pounds.
But if someone tries to lose 50 pounds at once it certainly won't
work. On average every Fatbet user loses 14 pounds - without paying
any fees because the website is financed through ads.
"The most important thing is the wager," explains Orkand. "It has
to be something that you definitely don't want to lose." There are no
limits, wagers can be anything: Losers have to let their beards grow,
sing embarassing songs in Karaoke bars or run naked through a city
centre. But often it is all about honour - or cash.
It is scientifically well-founded that the expectation of winning
money helps someone to lose pounds: Kevin Volpp, professor of
medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, found that slimming is
easier for people if they earn 600 dollars.
Volpp's survey was a role model for Makemoneylosingweight.com.
This website exists since the beginning of 2008 and promotes the
slogan "You can never be too rich or too thin." When starting a bet
the users have to pay an optional amount of money into a pool. At the
end losers go away empty-handed, but the winner takes it all: The
money and his weight loss.
A similar concept like the one of Makemonylosingweight.com is
behind StickK.com. One third of the wagers on this website are also
monetary. But users can decide if they want to donate the money to a
charity - or an "anti-charity," an organization they really hate.
Because of the latter option the George W. Bush library and the
National Rifle Organization (NRA) receive unexpected donations.
But StickK.com is not just about slimming, it is also about
getting rid of other vices. Twenty per cent of 33,000 users bet to
exercise regularly, five per cent want to quit smoking. Unlike on
Fatbet.net or Makemonylosingweight.com, the StickK-users have to
agree a contract which can be terminated only in exceptional cases.
"People need an incentive to stick with it and to achieve their
goal," says StickK founder Jordan Goldberg, 25, in explaining the
strict rules.
However, Elisa Zied from the American Dietic Association (ADA)
regards these "bet your fat away" websites very skeptically. "They
are a helper for those who like to compete with themselves," the
expert says, "but for those who think of it as a quick fix I say
forget about it."
Copyright 2009 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH