Curious Piglet Race-Course - The community helps the mayor in Italy in losing weight
A fluffy Cornetto for breakfast, pasta for lunch, and a juicy pizza in the evening: The Italian kitchen has its unique charms. But it leaves its traces. Luciano Fregonese learned this the hard way. The mayor of Valdobbiadene in the north of Italy has been in office for ten years - and has gained 50 kilos since then. To lose those pounds, he came up with a special idea. And his citizens are actively supporting him in his weight loss.
Fregonese attributes his weight gain to his "social obligations" as mayor. He is on the move from morning to late evening for appointments and encounters with his community's citizens and simply has no time for sports, he says in an interview with the German Press Agency. In addition, he enjoys eating. But irregularly. Mostly, he comes to eat only shortly before midnight - and of course, very generously.
More than 200 citizens are joining him
Now Fregonese weighs approximately 140 kilos. The 47-year-old considers this too much. Since the beginning of summer, he has been going for brisk walks. But not alone. He has invited the residents of Valdobbiadene to join him, usually for about 1.5 hours. More than 200 residents of the picturesque community in Venetia have joined his weekly runs through the hilly countryside.
Valdobbiadene, a community with around 10,000 residents, is located in the heart of the Prosecco region in Venetia. The community is known worldwide for its grape cultivation, especially the Glera grape for the famous Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene. In 2019, its origin was officially added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Battle against pounds as an election promise
Every Thursday, Fregonese and his citizens meet for their brisk walks. Mostly, they gather on the central Piazza Guglielmo Marconi and begin their run through the streets of Valdobbiadene. Later, they also go through the vineyards of the region. Fregonese shares photos of the walks on social media: In a large group, they run together through the vast vineyard fields.
The idea came to him just before his re-election as mayor in June. For some time, he had been troubled by health problems due to his obesity - walking had become increasingly difficult, and his back and knees hurt. His friends joked that after the election, his first goal should be to take care of his health.
"Many people come to encourage me"
He was re-elected, and his friends urged him to exercise together. But he always had to disappoint them. "A friend told me about a month ago, 'Tonight we're going for a run!'", Fregonese recalls. Again, he couldn't, as he had a citizens' meeting at the same time. "My friend suggested, 'Why don't we do both together? Tell the citizens to run with you!' And so the idea was born.
Fregonese quickly gathered 45 of his citizens for the first run. Then more and more came each week. Two weeks ago, there were over 200. And the residents take advantage of the mayor's citizens' meetings during the run, according to Fregonese. "So many people come to encourage me, to give me the will to keep going, because I would honestly admit that I couldn't do it alone."
Nearly half of the Italians are overweight
Additionally, he will encourage his citizens to move and take care of their health. In a recent report by the Istat Statistical Office in Italy, 47.6 percent of adults were overweight. Of them, 11.5 percent were obese. Many of the affected individuals apparently do not recognize their weight problem: More than half of the overweight and obese individuals considered themselves normal weight, according to the data.
In Italy, being overweight is still a taboo topic. A few months ago, someone wrote the word "panzone" ("Fattiness") on a wall in Valdobbiadene and meant it as a reference to Fregonese. "That didn't bother me. But it made me think," Fregonese said. "People shouldn't be ashamed of their weight. But they should understand that it's not healthy and something needs to be done."
Fregonese doesn't want to give up Prosecco
It's not primarily about losing his belly for Fregonese. That's why he hasn't weighed himself since his first walk with his citizens. "I don't know if I've lost weight, but I feel better - physically and mentally. And that's what matters most to me," Fregonese said. "It's nice to meet people outside."
The citizens' consultation hours in athletic clothing and sneakers are popular. Occasionally, people who live on the route of his walks offer him a glass of wine as a joke. He always refuses. But he can't say no to a glass of Prosecco. "A glass of Prosecco doesn't have that many calories," Fregonese jokes. He just won't give it up - even if the weight loss program is a bit detrimental.
- The picturesque community of Valdobbiadene, known for its Prosecco production and being a Venetian Commune, is located in the heart of Italy's Prosecco region.
- Fregonese's weight gain can be attributed to his "social obligations" as mayor, causing him to have limited time for sports and irregular meals, often eating generously late at night.
- Tourism in Valdobbiadene thrives, with visitors interested in tasting the region's renowned wine, such as Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019.
- The German Press Agency reported that Fregonese's citizens are actively supporting his weight loss journey by joining him on weekly brisk walks through the hilly countryside, totaling over 200 participants.
- Despite the positive health benefits of exercising, obesity remains a common issue in Italian society, with nearly half of adults being overweight, and many not recognizing their weight problems, according to a recent report by the Istat Statistical Office in Italy.
