NEO Employees Losing Weight To Help Students

MIAMI, Okla. (AP) -- Taking their inspiration from a popular television show, 45 employees at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College are participating in a contest to lose weight.<br/><br/>Participants in the

Friday, September 22nd 2006, 12:55 pm

By: News On 6

MIAMI, Okla. (AP) -- Taking their inspiration from a popular television show, 45 employees at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College are participating in a contest to lose weight.

Participants in the contest, modeled after the show "The Biggest Loser," are paying to compete, with the funds going into a scholarship fund for students. The winning team of "losers" will pick the recipient of the scholarship money, said Edie Ingram, the junior college's director of development and a participant on one of the weight-loss teams, which has taken the name "Foundation Fat Fighters."

It's the second such contest at NEO. The money raised by groups that competed last spring went toward a student book scholarship.

This semester's contest started Sept. 4 and will run through Dec. 4. Betty Ann Howard, who works in the college's business office, lost eight pounds during the spring contest and has dropped 2 1/2 more during the current contest.

"When the contest started, being part of a group really added an incentive to eat right and exercise," Howard said. "Also, I have four grandchildren and I want to live to a ripe old age."