A recent study has found more evidence that rewarding individuals for losing weight improves outcomes in weight management programs. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic offered cash incentives to a group of participants if they were able to succeed at losing a target of 4 pounds per month.
According to the researchers the results for the incentive group were significantly better than the control group:
Study completion rates for the incentive groups were significant compared with the non-incentive groups: 62 percent versus 26 percent. In the incentive groups, participants’ mean weight loss was 9.08 pounds, compared with 2.34 pounds for the non-incentive groups.
This matches what incentaHEALTH sees in its corporate weight management programs. Incentives help increase initial program engagement, and boost long term program retention. Incentives can be the much-needed spark to get your employees to take that first step toward healthy eating and active living.
