Money May Help People Lose Weight
Study Suggests Paying People to Shed Pounds is Effective
Dec 10, 2008
American researchers now have evidence that may suggest that financially rewarding dieters can help them lose weight for the long term. The idea has been coined “incentive-based” dieting and researchers at the University of Pennsylvania created two incentive-based approaches for losing weight during a recent study.
Two Incentive-based Weight Loss Studies Created
One study, according to the Journal of American Medical Association, included participants who played a lottery and won a prize if they achieved or lost more than their target weight.
In the other study, called “deposit contract,” participants invested their own money, and lost it if they did not meet their weight goals.
The 57 study volunteers received randomly assigned weight-monitoring programs involving monthly weigh-ins. All participants were given a weight-loss goal of 16 pounds across 16 weeks.
Deposit Group Study Participants Lost More Weight, Earned More Money
The study volunteers in the deposit contract group lost an average of 3.9 pounds more than those in the lottery group, and the average amount of money earned was $378.49 in the deposit contract group and $272.80 in the lottery group.
The two groups compared, the lottery group lost 13.1 pounds and the deposit contract group lost 14 pounds on average.
About half of the members from both incentive groups met the 16-pound target weight loss, or more than 47 percent in the deposit contract group and more than 52 percent in the lottery group.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine and the Wharton School.
Most Participants Gained Weight Following the Study
Participants of both groups gained weight between the end of the 16-week study programs and the end of seven months, but still weighed less at seven months than they did at the start of the study.
“However, this weight loss was not fully sustained and further work is needed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these approaches in achieving sustained weight loss," the researchers wrote.
Further study will be needed to examine the viability of this approach, though many healthcare organizations and insurance companies do provide incentives to members including offering free gym membership, counseling, discounts to diets programs, coupons, and discounts to wellness activities and services,
Incentive approaches based on money and reward appear to be highly effective in getting people lose weight, researchers from the study wrote. Whether participants can keep the weight off is yet to be seen.
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