American Notes NEW MEXICO

New Mexicans have nothing to lose but their pounds. In the nation's first statewide diet, 10,000 residents have joined a program to lose at least five pounds each by March 29. The project, Eat Right New Mexico, is sponsored by HealthNet, a nonprofit organization that has launched a ten-year effort to change local eating and exercise habits. After the first week of weigh-ins at schools, supermarkets and Indian reservations, the dieters have found that misery loves company. Notes Geraldine Bolton, 58, of Albuquerque: "The program gives me an incentive to lose weight. It's always easier when someone else is in the same boat you are."