Dietitians often advise the best way to stick to a weight-loss plan is to let others know your goals, and to find a buddy to diet and exercise with you.
If these are the keys to successfully shedding extra weight, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and city councillor Doug Ford are off to a good start.
The brothers have made public their intention to slim down, revealing they're launching a weight-loss challenge next week, and will set up giant scales at the mayor's office for periodic weigh-ins, according to NewsTalk 1010. (Go on. Insert the gravy train jokes here.)
"Rob has two young kids and I have four girls. We want to be around to watch them get married and be grandparents. If you're carrying this extra weight...it's not healthy. And we know that," Coun. Ford told the radio station.
NewsTalk 1010 said the duo plan to partner with one or more charities for their challenge, and give pledges and donations to those causes, although they have yet to decide which ones.
The radio station did not mention how much weight they actually intend to lose, but it's no secret the Fords could stand to get in better physical shape.
Over the years, we've seen plenty of politicians reach for their weight-loss goals under the public gaze. As the CBC points out, former Toronto mayor David Miller shed a staggering 50 pounds while in office, after adopting a rigorous exercise routine and cutting out junk food.
Given the health risks associated with obesity and being overweight, do political leaders have an obligation to get fit? Would successfully shedding weight improve a politician's popularity?
Wency Leung