OVERWEIGHT Brits could be given supermarket discounts, shopping vouchers and Fitbits as a reward to shed the pounds under new NHS plans. 

Health chiefs are expected to launch a £6 million pilot scheme as an incentive to help people get in shape. 

Fitness companies and supermarkets are being encouraged to bid to run the government's new ‘Health Incentives’ programme, which could be rolled out across the UK if trials are successful. 

Health officials have been examining Singapore’s “national steps challenge”, which sees people compete against each other using digital trackers. 

The six-month pilot will launch in January 2022, and the government has today announced an open tender for the programme.

Sir Keith Mills, the founder of Air Miles, is an adviser on the scheme.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “The Health Incentives scheme could be a vital tool in the Government’s plans to tackle health inequalities and encourage healthier behaviours.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses, the public and third sectors to come together and deliver a new and exciting way of supporting people to healthier habits.”

It comes after growing concern over the link between Covid mortality and obesity.

Some two in three adults in the UK are overweight, and obesity related illnesses cost the NHS £6 billion a year.

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Ministers claim that the health service could save £100 million if everyone who was overweight lost 5lbs.

The government has recently launched a crackdown on junk food advertising in a bid to stem a rise in child obesity.

Junk food ads will be banned on telly before the 9pm watershed, while companies will also face a slew of restrictions preventing them from freely advertising food online if the treats contain high levels of salt or sugar.

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