Behavior Change and Health News
Money Can Help People Lose Weight
Recent research published in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed that cash incentives, even as small as $7, are successful motivators in helping people lose weight.
Employers have good reason to worry about workers' expanding waistlines. Obesity costs U.S. companies around $12.7 billion per year, according to the National Business Group on Health. Much of this is extra health care costs, but indirect costs include decreased productivity and increased absenteeism.
The study conducted by Eric A. Finkelstein, a health economist at RTI International in North Carolina, involved 200 overweight employees at colleges throughout North Carolina. The participants were divided into three groups. While one group did not receive any incentives, two received cash incentives: $7 or $14 for each percentage point of weight lost, respectively.
Those employees who received the larger incentive lost the most amount of weight. Finkelstein and his coauthors are currently analyzing data from a follow-up study of 1,000 participants. In this study, cash incentives were compared to Web-based weight-loss programs and changes in the office environment, such as healthier cafeteria food and on-site exercise facilities.
VSM Abrasives, a company in O’Fallon, Missouri, also uses financial incentives to reward its employees who lose weight. If employees keep their weight off, they earn an extra day off each year, as well.
Programs like Active Living Every Day and Healthy Eating Every Day can help provide the support needed when attempting to lose weight and make healthy lifestyle behavior changes. To learn more about these programs, visit www.ActiveLiving.info or contact Bhibha Das at 800-747-4457 or bhibhad@hkusa.com.
Sources:
Finkelstein et al. September 2007. A pilot study testing the effect of different levels of financial incentives on weight loss among overweight employees. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 49(3).
Associated Press. September 25, 2007. Study: Money can prod one to lose weight. www.ap.org. Accessed October 8, 2007.
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