If a new idea in America becomes a law, people who suffer from obesity could suffer financially too.

The US state of Arizona wants to charge overweight citizens $50 (325 Yuan) annually if they fail to follow their doctors' advice. People with children or who are overweight because they suffer from a medical condition would be exempt. If the idea is approved by Congress, smokers and diabetics who fail to stick to a healthy lifestyle will also have to pay.

Medicaid, the organisation which provides healthcare to the poor in the USA, costs the government $339bn (2.2 trillion Yuan) a year. Monica Coury, assistant director at Arizona's Medicaid programme, said that this proposal would ask people to give something back. She said that Arizona would take a carrot and stick approach to the problem. As well as penalising people who go against their doctor's wishes, incentives would be offered for following advice, possibly a keep-fit video.

Arizona's senator Kyrsten Sinema has not backed the plans, saying that there isn't a system to decide whether someone is or isn't following medical advice. Other critics claim that people don't need the government to look after them; if they want to be fat and smoke, the "nanny state" shouldn't try to stop them. Wes Benedict of the Libertarian Party said: "If you want to save the state money... cut Medicaid across the board, but don't single out overweight people and smokers."