There was not convincing evidence that effects were different between different groups of behaviours .
Meta-regression found some , limited , evidence that effect sizes decreased as post-intervention follow-up period and incentive value increased .
However , the latter effect may be confounded by the former .
The available evidence suggests that financial incentive interventions are more effective than usual care or no intervention for encouraging healthy behaviour change .
BACKGROUND Financial incentive interventions have been suggested as one method of promoting healthy behaviour change .
OBJECTIVES To conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of financial incentive interventions for encouraging healthy behaviour change ; to explore whether effects vary according to the type of behaviour incentivised , post-intervention follow-up time , or incentive value .
Correspondence programs for smoking cessation and weight control: a comparison of two strategies in the Minnesota Heart Health Program.
Mailed invitations to participate in weight loss and /or smoking cessation correspondence programs to 31,400 households in a suburban community . Two programs were offered to r and omized subsets of households , a 6-month correspondence program costing + 5 and the same program for free but requiring a + 60 deposit to be refunded based on success in weight loss or smoking cessation . Overall , sign-up included 1,304 people for weight loss and 142 for smoking cessation . The + 5 program was about 5 times as popular as the incentive program .  Vali date d weight change after 6 months averaged about 4 lb for the + 5 program and 8 lb for the incentive program . Corresponding rates of smoking cessation were about 9 % and 20 % , respectively . We conclude that correspondence programs for the promotion of weight control and smoking cessation are potentially cost-effective methods for reaching individuals in the community at large , many of whom would not be interested in clinic-based programs . Issues meriting further research include recruitment , especially of smokers , and evaluation of the relative trade-offs in recruitment success versus efficacy of differing treatment approaches
There was not convincing evidence that effects were different between different groups of behaviours .
Meta-regression found some , limited , evidence that effect sizes decreased as post-intervention follow-up period and incentive value increased .
However , the latter effect may be confounded by the former .
The available evidence suggests that financial incentive interventions are more effective than usual care or no intervention for encouraging healthy behaviour change .
BACKGROUND Financial incentive interventions have been suggested as one method of promoting healthy behaviour change .
OBJECTIVES To conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of financial incentive interventions for encouraging healthy behaviour change ; to explore whether effects vary according to the type of behaviour incentivised , post-intervention follow-up time , or incentive value .