We were looking for a northern Italian town with a weight problem for our geo quiz today. The World's David Leveille's got the answer.

Fettucini Alfredo and tiramisu are only part of the problem. The mayor of the town of Varallo Sesia in northern Italy says the stress of the modern life is pushing his town's residents to eat too much -- too fast. As a result, the town of Varallo is in the same shape as the rest of Italy. The Italian Health Ministry estimates 28 million Italians are overweight - almost half the population.

Mayor Gianluca Buonanno says he noticed locals eating junk food and watching too much television. And he admits he's about 13 pounds overweight. So when his son referred to him as "pancione" or "pot belly", the mayor felt compelled to act:

(Italian) "So I proposed a slimming program with monetary rewards...starting with 50 euros for reaching your ideal weight and after 5 months you get a 200 euros premium because the difficulty is not just about losing weight but and keeping to your ideal weight and after a year you get 500 euros so we've been motivating people with money."

Drop the pounds and keep them off...and it adds up to nearly 700 dollars after one year. But don't try to pull a fast one on the mayor. A doctor must first certify that you' re overweight to start with. The Mayor's weight loss scheme has just gone into effect, but already Donato Greco of Italy's Ministry of Health says Varallo is setting a good example:

"Yes we are quite happy because this reaction goes in the direction of a national strategy against chronic disease we are now trying to combat smoking alcohol physical inactivity and of course diet that is one of the major determinants of the health of the nation."

So Italy is mobilizing against obesity. Does that mean the mayor of Varallo stays clear of the local gelato shop?

(Italian) "Tiramisu, chocolate , vanilla.."

...where scoops of tiramisu, chocolate chip and "vanilla" are as popular as ever. Actually according to the guy who's scooping out ice-cream today, the mayor 's watching what he eats:

He says the mayor comes in but he usually orders a popsicle which has fewer calories that regular ice-cream. News of Varallo's crash cash diet has made it all the way to Michael Obremsky, the mayor of Randolph Township in New Jersey.

"It is certainly a interesting approach, I guess my first question and reaction would be is where is the money coming from for one if its coming from taxpayers dollars I might have some issues with it."

Randolph has its own voluntary wellness program which the Mayor says is very popular. It's called "Stroll, roll or run!"

"...and the stroll piece is run by me where I lead the citizens on a walk on our 15 miles of trails that we pick out a route for, one of our local bicycle shops has volunteered to take bicyclists on our designated trails so were trying to find a means of exercise that everybody can relate to and get involved in."

Time and maybe a good bathroom scale will be the judge of whether Randolph's wellness campaign or Varallo's pay as you lose approach works better. Like his Italian counterpart -- Mayor Obremski admits he has a ways to go:

So are you down to your ideal weight? (Mayor) "No not yet. were getting there..were getting there."