A Randomized Trial of Social Comparison Feedback and Financial Incentives to Increase Physical Activity.

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of different combinations of social comparison feedback and financial incentives to increase physical activity.

Design: Randomized trial (Clinicaltrials.gov number, NCT02030080).

Premium-Based Financial Incentives Did Not Promote Workplace Weight Loss In A 2013-15 Study.

Employers commonly use adjustments to health insurance premiums as incentives to encourage healthy behavior, but the effectiveness of those adjustments is controversial. We gave 197 obese participants in a workplace wellness program a weight loss goal equivalent to 5 percent of their baseline weight. They were randomly assigned to a control arm, with no financial incentive for achieving the goal, or to one of three intervention arms offering an incentive valued at $550.