Group-based Financial Incentives Produce More Weight Loss

Researchers compared two incentive scenarios: in the first one, employees got $100 for each month they met the goal of dropping at least one pound per week; while in the second, $500 was set aside each month for a group of five co-workers and group who met their goal split the prize. By the study’s end, those offered individual incentives had shed 3.7 pounds on average compared to 10.6 pounds for those with group-based incentives. Annals of Internal Medicine, online April 1, 2013