Fitness Friday

Reward Programs for Losing Weight

Overweight and obesity have led to the rise in non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.  They have also raised private and public healthcare costs.  This is easier to avoid if people make healthier choices or engage in physical activity.

Social Science and Medicine, has shown selling reward programs to participants entering a weight loss program increases the magnitude and duration of weight loss.

Professor Frank Finkelstein from Duke-NUS developed a rewards program aimed at a disconnect between long-term and short-term health temptations. 161 participants paid to have a 16 week intensive workout program. They were taught skills to maintain their healthy lifestyle and encouraged to lose 5% of their body weight. They then paid for a rewards program where they could earn monthly rewards in cash or in a lottery ticket with 1 in 10 chances to win ten times the cash amount if they met monthly weight loss and step goals. There were 42% of participants who won more than they paid in and around 80% reported satisfaction with the reward program.

The value of reward programs increases weight loss and weight loss management. It is also done by minimizing third party payments such as employers or insurers. Small amounts of weight loss overtime has great health benefits and can help prevent chronic diseases especially using reward programs.