A small Italian town mayor's fight to loss weight has gone viral after he campaigned for company on his weekly walks.
ADVERTISEMENTVisit the northern Italian town of Valdobbiadene on a Thursday night and you’ll find a few hundred people on an evening walk with their mayor.
Luciano Fregonese was re-elected as mayor of the town in the Veneto region in June.
Since his first mandate a decade ago, the 47-year-old has gained 50kg, which he blames on the job’s “convivial obligations” and long working hours.
He has vowed to return to the 90kg he weighed when first elected and is now undertaking weekly walks to slim down.
The Italian town walking weekly to lose weight
“For sure, it was a question of laziness and a sedentary lifestyle too, but being mayor meant I no longer did any sport or physical activity,” Fregonese told UK paper The Guardian.
“The other problem is that I enjoy eating and drinking, also because you eat and drink well here and so it’s not easy to follow a diet.”
Valdobbiadene is famed for its sparkling white wine prosecco, but Fregonese says the volume of food and irregular eating hours were the bigger problem.
When planning his re-election campaign, friends suggested he make his weight loss goals the main objective.
It seemed to convince many of the town’s 10,000 residents and Fregonese won by a considerable margin with 67 per cent of the vote.
“I won the election and thought I should start getting busy. But I didn't know how, I never had time,” the mayor told Vanity Fair Italia.
“Then, chatting with a friend who had the same problem as me, we said to each other: let's go walking together. And why don’t we ask the people of the town too.”
So Fregonese decided to turn his weekly Thursday office hours for residents into walking sessions.
'An inclusive, non-performative group'
A few weeks ago, Fregonese started taking advantage of the hilly terrain to undertake 5.5-kilometre walks through the town and surrounding vineyards.
“Those who care about me tell me I have to think about my health. And I want to do it together with my citizens,” he said at the first meeting, where 45 people turned up.
The week after it grew to 113 and has since snowballed to 215 (and 12 dogs). Post-trek, photos, videos and a route are posted on the mayor’s Facebook account.
ADVERTISEMENTNaturally, Fregonese can’t talk to everyone who joins the walk.
“In reality, 10 per cent of citizens come to make reports and requests to me. The others just accompany me and go for a dog or family walk in an inclusive, non-performative group,” he told Vanity Fair Italia. “It's good because I certainly can't maintain a brisk pace.”
Fregonese says people now wait at their windows to greet them as they walk by - and even offer a glass of wine.
But obviously, the mayor isn’t tempted. “I'm already tired walking the five kilometres, imagine if I had to drink,” he said.
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