Have you noticed that usually difficult tasks can be easily completed when you get paid? A new study found that this principle can be related to weight loss as well – the higher payout you seek or you are offered, the more weight you lose.
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Researchers from the Mayo Clinic conducted a study testing financial incentives for weight loss. Their study included both cash for succeeding and financial penalties for failure. Previous studies have shown that financial incentives help people lose weight, but this study examined a larger group of participants over a longer period. One hundred healthy Mayo employees, ages 18-63 with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 39.9, or in other words obese, took part in the research. They were assigned to four groups – two with financial incentives, and two without. The experiment continued for a year during which participants were given a goal of losing 4 pounds per month. They were weighed every month and in case they were successful, received $20. People in the incentive groups who couldn’t achieve their goals had to pay $20 every month into a bonus pool. And in the end of the study, all participant who were still in the contest, had the chance to win the pool in a lottery.
The results showed that people in the incentive programs were more likely to achieve their monthly goals and eventually complete the study than those in the non-incentive groups – 62 percent compared to 26 percent. Averagely cash winners lost 9.08 pounds for one year, while the others lost an average of only 2.34 pounds. So, according to leading study author Donald Hensrud, M.D., the study clearly proves that financial incentives can really help people lose more weight, especially when obesity has become a world epidemic and largely contributes to some of the most common conditions – diabetes and heart disease.
Researchers also found that even participants in the incentive groups who paid penalties remained in the program for a longer period of time, compared to those who didn’t have chance to win some cash in the non-incentive groups. Such strategies are becoming more popular, especially in large companies in the U.S. where many of the employees are obese and need to visit doctors and hospitals more often than lighter people. A lot of people also join cash-for-pounds contests and initiatives, because traditional therapies are not working for them, and this can be a very creative and effective way to lose the extra pounds.
Unfortunately it only lasted while the cash was being paid out. To feel determined to stick with a weight loss plan is going to take a little bit more – it needs to come from inside.