edited by katie barnes. email:
katiebarnes@leisuremedia.com research round-up
New research suggests that a fi nancial incentive encourages weight-loss – but possibly not in the long-term. We fi nd out more
Sept 09, p30). Now new research* suggests that people who are given financial incentives to lose weight may be more successful than those who just go on a diet with no sign of a reward – but they may not keep off the weight once the offer of money has gone. The research was carried out at
reaping rewards? T
he idea of giving members rewards to keep fit or reach weight goals is a matter of ongoing debate (see HCM
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, US. It follows a previous 16-week study which looked at monetary rewards for weight-loss, in which subjects put a substantial amount of weight back on after the intervention finished. In this new study, the financial incentive was lengthened to eight months to see if a longer programme would help in losing weight and not regaining it. This study also incorporated a ‘loss aversion’ tactic of actually taking participants’ money away if they did not stick to the programme.
the study The eight-month study comprised a six-month weight-loss stage where the goal was to shed 1lb a week. This was followed by a two-month maintenance stage. All 66 participants were obese, with BMIs of 30–40, and were aged between 30 and 70. There were three randomly assigned
groups. The fi rst took part in a weight- monitoring programme, with monthly weigh-ins and advice and strategies on how to lose weight. The second (DC1) participated in the same programme, but paid US$3 a day into a fund, which was matched by researchers. The subjects reported their weight each day by text and, if they reached their target by the end of the month, they got their money back,
Financial incentives can encourage people to lose weight – but what happens next?
plus the researchers’ money. Those who didn’t meet the target lost their money. The third group (DC2) followed the
same programme as those in DC1, but were notifi ed that the two-month fi nal stage was for weight-loss maintenance (none of the others knew this) – the aim being to see if people made less effort if they thought they’d passed the fi rst stage. Weight was measured at the end of the eight-month study, then nine months later.
the results At eight months there was no difference in weight loss between the DC1 and DC2 groups, so these results were pooled together. Subjects in the DC (fi nancial incentive) groups lost 8.7lbs on average – signifi cantly more than the control group, where the average loss was only 1.17lbs.
However, nine months after the
study had ended, nearly all subjects had regained the weight they lost, with no great difference in weight loss between groups. Those in the fi nancial incentive groups lost an average of 1.2lbs, while the control group averaged 0.27lbs. While the study was well conducted,
the researchers recognise some limitations – notably that subjects were mostly men and that the study could not be a ‘blind’ one as people knew they were receiving the fi nancial incentive. In addition, only 65 per cent of subjects returned for the nine-month follow up. Using money to encourage weight-
loss is effective, it seems, but weight maintenance once the fi nancial incentive is taken away is more tricky; further investigation of weight maintenance strategies would be a valuable next step.
* John LK, et al. Financial Incentives for Extended Weight Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 20 Jan 2011. march 2011 © cybertrek 2011 Read Health Club Management online
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 47
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