How Your Wallet Can Help You Lose Weight

Put your money where your mouth is if you really want to drop pounds

Trying to lose weight? Money can be a serious motivator: People who receive financial incentives are more likely to stick to weight-loss programs and tend to drop more pounds than people who try to slim down without them, according to a new Mayo Clinic study.

The study followed 100 people between the ages of 18 to 63 over a one-year period.  All of the participants had body mass indexes of 30 or higher, which is considered obese. They were given a goal of losing 4 pounds per month. Each participant was assigned to one of four different groups: two with financial incentives and two without.

Participants who met their monthly target goal got $20 each month, while those who didn’t had to cough up $20 that went into a pooled account. Participants in the incentive groups who completed the program were also entered into a lottery to win the pooled money.

Even though $20 a month isn’t a big payout, the groups’ results were drastically different. Sixty-two percent of the cash incentive groups completed the study, while just 26 percent of the other groups did. Those in the cash-driven groups also lost 9.08 pounds on average, compared to the other groups’ average weight loss of 2.34 pounds.

It wasn’t just participants getting money who were more likely to stick with the routine, either; those who paid cash penalties were also more likely to finish the program than those who received no financial incentive, according to the study.

“It’s human nature that we tend to make choices that provide immediate gratification,” says Steven Driver, MD, an internal medicine resident at the Mayo Clinic. “Financial incentives help by counteracting immediate rewards and promoting healthy behavior changes that we wish we would do more often.”

How can you use this news in your own life? Download GymPact, a free app that gives cash rewards for working out. You set how many days a week you’ll hit the gym and choose what you’re willing to pay if you don’t follow through (for example, you might sign up for five days a week, with $5 on the line each day). Every week, the money paid by non-exercisers who missed their workouts is divided and paid out to those who met their goals. You can’t cheat, either: GymPact keeps you honest by .making you check into your gym via your smartphone each time you go.

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