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Did you think that the struggle to lose weight would cost the state and the taxpayers a hefty sum?

Well, they are. The National Institutes of Health are funding a study costing $406,875, to check if text message reminders can spur Latino men to undergo their exercises.

More funds might be required to fund the program if it gets launched on a bigger scale, reports The Examiner.

Mexican American "men may have limited access to public health interventions promoting [physical activity]. To address these rising health disparities, effective interventions that leverage state-of-the-art technology, theory, and methods are needed for [Mexican American] men," according to the grant  for the "low-cost" study.

It is organised by the University of California, San Diego.

The stated public health relevance is as follows: "Mexican American men report high rates of inactivity and related health conditions. The proposed study seeks to promote physical activity among this at-risk, understudied population by developing interactive and tailored text-messages to enhance a print-based physical activity intervention for Spanish- speaking [Mexican American] men. The proposed high-reach, low-cost strategy for increasing physical activity has great potential for adoption on a larger scale and thereby positively impacting public health and eliminating health disparities."

At first, the experts took a study that used "culturally and linguistically tailored" print drives spurring Latino men to take up exercises. After three months, just 40 percent of the participants were able to match up to the rules of 150 minutes per week.

On the other hand, 30 percent did not exercise at all.

Later, during interviews, men said that the CDC could add a text messaging component to go with the print material so that some results might be improved.