Insta360, a Chinese tech company based in Guangdong Province, has launched a program to financially incentivize employees to lose weight. According to Nanfang Daily, workers receive 500 yuan (about 70 USD) for every 500 grams they lose.
The program is aimed at encouraging healthy lifestyles among staff, including exercise and a balanced diet. According to the publication, one participant managed to lose 40 kg in 90 days, which earned her 20 thousand yuan (2,8 thousand USD). The employee said that she strictly controlled her diet and exercised for an hour and a half every day.
The initiative provides not only incentives, but also penalties: for every kilogram gained, program participants must pay 800 yuan (112 USD).
The relevance of such measures is supported by data from a study published in March 2025 in the Lancet. According to the study, in 2021, the number of Chinese adults who are overweight or obese exceeded 400 million, which is more than a third of the country's population. Projections indicate that this figure will increase to 630 million by 2050.
