Financial incentives boost weight loss in 49% of low-income adults with obesity. Explore tailored strategies for patient engagement.
Outcome-based and goal-directed financial incentives are similarly effective
Joseph A. Ladapo, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, and colleagues randomly assigned 668 adults with obesity living in low-income neighborhoods to goal-directed incentives, outcome-based incentives, or a resources-only group.
Incentives were ≤$750, while all received a one-year commercial weight-loss program membership, self-monitoring tools (digital scale, food journal, and physical activity monitor), health education, and monthly one-on-one check-in visits.
The researchers found that at six months, the proportion of patients who lost at least 5 percent of baseline weight was 22.1 percent in the resources-only group, 39.0 percent in the goal-directed group, and 49.1 percent in the outcome-based incentive group (difference, 10.08 percentage points for outcome-based versus goal-directed; difference, 27.03 percentage points and 16.95 percentage points for outcome-based or goal-directed versus resources only, respectively).
The mean percentage of weight loss was similar in the incentive arms. In the goal-directed group, the mean earned incentives were $440.44 versus $303.56 in the outcome-based group. However, incentives did not improve financial well-being.
“New tools are needed beyond encouragement and education to help some people struggling to cope with obesity,” a coauthor said in a statement. “Our national approach has to include multiple approaches, including incentives tailored to the different needs of groups most profoundly impacted by illness and disease tied to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.”
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