An Italian mayor has gained 50 kilos during his term in office. To lose weight, he now offers office runs every Thursday. The offer has been well received by the residents of Valdobbiadene.
More than 200 people have now joined his weekly runs through the hilly area, which include vineyards and the central Piazza Guglielmo Marconi. “It’s good to meet people outside. So many people come to encourage me, to give me the will to keep going, because honestly, I couldn’t do it alone,” says mayor Luciano Fregonese.
Overweight due to obligations?
Fregonese weighs about 140 kilograms. The 47-year-old attributes his excess weight to his “social obligations”. He is on the road from early morning until late at night for appointments and meetings with citizens of his community. As a result, he has no time to exercise. He also likes to eat irregularly, often shortly before midnight.
Here you see a photo of a public consultation outside.
A friend of Fregonese had the idea to run with citizens. “About a month ago, a friend said, ‘Today we’re going to run,’” he says. He declined because he had his citizen consultation at the same time. “Then my friend said, ‘Why don’t we do it together? Tell the citizens to run with you.’”
Encourage citizens
Without further ado, he gathered 45 citizens for his first run. Every week more and more came, two weeks ago there were already 200. Fregonese wants not only to lose weight, but also to encourage people to exercise and take care of their health. According to a recent report, 47.6 percent of adults in Italy are overweight. “You have to understand that it is not healthy and that you have to do something,” says the mayor.
“I don’t know if I’ve lost weight yet, but I feel better – physically and mentally. And that’s the most important thing for me.” Valdobbiadene has about 10,000 inhabitants and is located in the centre of the Veneto region.
Source: Krone
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