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 Simple Reinforcement Strategy for Increasing Attendance at a Fitness Facility
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of a previously untested reinforcement strategy ( i.e. , 1 month 's free membership ) on attendance at a  fitness facility . Participants were paying members of a fitness facility r and omly assigned to  control ( n = 100 ) , placebo  ( n = 100 ) , and  reinforcement ( n = 100 ) conditions . The control condition received no intervention ; the placebo condition received a letter by mail ; and the reinforcement condition received the same letter by mail , except that it included an additional paragraph instructing them that they could earn 1 month 's free membership if they attended the fitness facility at least 12 times in the next month . Attendance was monitored for I month baseline and postintervention by using the facility 's computer system . Analysis of variance , t tests , and chi-square analysis all revealed that the reinforcement condition had the best attendance record during the intervention period . These preliminary results shed some light on increasing attendance at a fitness facility . Discussion highlighted the practical implication s of the findings and offered directions for future research
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 .