Assured , or " sure thing , " incentives and objective behavioral assessment in particular appear to moderate incentive effectiveness .
The effect estimate from the meta- analysis suggests that financial incentives increase exercise session attendance for interventions up to 6 months in duration .
CONTEXT Less than 5 % of U.S. adults accumulate the required dose of exercise to maintain health .
Behavioral economics has stimulated renewed interest in economic-based , population -level health interventions to address this issue .
Despite widespread implementation of financial incentive-based public health and workplace wellness policies , the effects of financial incentives on exercise initiation and maintenance in adults remain unclear .
A randomized study of financial incentives to increase physical activity among sedentary older adults.
OBJECTIVE Less than half of all U.S. adults meet public health recommendations for physical activity , and even fewer older adults ( aged 50 years and over ) are sufficiently active . Because inactivity increases the risk of costly medical complications , successful efforts to increase physical activity among older adults may potentially be cost-effective . We sought to test if financial incentives for walking could increase physical activity among sedentary older adults . METHODS We conducted a 4-week r and omized controlled study using pedometers .  A total of 51 adults age 50 + from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina participated in the study in April-May 2007 . Individuals were r and omized into one of two arms . The control group received a fixed payment of $ 75 ; the intervention group received a fixed payment of $ 50 plus up to $ 25 more per week depending on the number of weekly aerobic minutes  , defined as 10 + minutes of continuous walking or jogging . RESULTS The control group logged 2.3 h per week , on average . The intervention group logged 4.1 h per week and received an additional weekly payment of $ 17.50 , on average . CONCLUSION Modest financial incentives tied to aerobic minutes are an effective , and potentially cost-effective , approach for increasing physical activity among sedentary older adults
Assured , or " sure thing , " incentives and objective behavioral assessment in particular appear to moderate incentive effectiveness .
The effect estimate from the meta- analysis suggests that financial incentives increase exercise session attendance for interventions up to 6 months in duration .
CONTEXT Less than 5 % of U.S. adults accumulate the required dose of exercise to maintain health .
Behavioral economics has stimulated renewed interest in economic-based , population -level health interventions to address this issue .
Despite widespread implementation of financial incentive-based public health and workplace wellness policies , the effects of financial incentives on exercise initiation and maintenance in adults remain unclear .