Getting the Most Out of Financial Incentives for Weight Loss
Authors: Jason Riis
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2013)

Editorials2 April 2013Getting the Most Out of Financial Incentives for Weight LossJason Riis, PhDJason Riis, PhDFrom Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-158-7-201304020-00009 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The use of incentive-based programs for weight loss is growing. This growth is likely to accelerate in the coming years due to a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which allows employers to use a greater proportion of insurance premiums for this purpose (1). The effectiveness of the programs, at least in the short term, is consistent with insights from psychology and behavioral economics: Proximal and tangible rewards (such as monthly monetary payments) are more motivating than distant and intangible rewards (such as the downstream health benefits of weight loss).Because of the high costs of health ...References1. Volpp KG, Asch DA, Galvin R, Loewenstein G. Redesigning employee health incentives—lessons from behavioral economics. N Engl J Med. 2011;365:388-90. [PMID: 21812669] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Finkelstein EA, Trogdon JG, Cohen JW, Dietz W. Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer-and service-specific estimates. Health Aff (Millwood). 2009;28:w822-31. [PMID: 19635784] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Finkelstein E, Fiebelkorn lC, Wang G. The costs of obesity among full-time employees. Am J Health Promot. 2005;20:45-51. [PMID: 16171161] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Kullgren JT, Troxel AB, Loewenstein G, Asch DA, Norton LA, Wesby L, et al. Individual- versus group-based financial incentives for weight loss. A randomized, controlled trial. . 2013;158:505-14. Google Scholar5. Levy DE, Riis J, Sonnenberg LM, Barraclough SJ, Thorndike AN. Food choices of minority and low-income employees: a cafeteria intervention. Am J Prev Med. 2012;43:240-8. [PMID: 22898116] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Thorndike AN, Sonnenberg L, Riis J, Barraclough S, Levy DE. A 2-phase labeling and choice architecture intervention to improve healthy food and beverage choices. Am J Public Health. 2012;102:527-33. [PMID: 22390518] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Jason Riis, PhDAffiliations: From Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts.Disclosures: None disclosed. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M13-0449.Corresponding Author: Jason Riis, PhD, Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA 02163; e-mail, [email protected]edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoIndividual- Versus Group-Based Financial Incentives for Weight Loss Jeffrey T. Kullgren , Andrea B. Troxel , George Loewenstein , David A. Asch , Laurie A. Norton , Lisa Wesby , Yuanyuan Tao , Jingsan Zhu , and Kevin G. Volpp Metrics Cited byExploring parent attitudes around using incentives to promote engagement in family-based weight management programs 2 April 2013Volume 158, Issue 7Page: 560-561KeywordsConflicts of interestFoodHealth careHealth economicsInsuranceMotivationObesityPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActPsychologyWeight loss ePublished: 2 April 2013 Issue Published: 2 April 2013 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2013 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...