Evaluating the Effectiveness of Financial Incentives in Promoting Weight Loss Among Obese Individuals.

NCT00520611 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 00985
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 57
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Obesity is a major cause of premature aging and the second leading cause of preventable mortality in the United States, accounting for approximately 110,000 deaths per year. Financial incentives have been effective in modifying a number of health behaviors but they have rarely been applied to weight loss, and to the best of our knowledge never to weight loss by low-SES obese veterans. We propose testing two different approaches to using financial incentives to encourage weight loss. In the first, we build on previous work showing the effectiveness of 'deposit contracts', in which subjects are given the opportunity to put their own money at risk if they do not lose weight. In this incentive condition, subjects receive a direct payment conditional on daily weight loss, and an optional additional payment based on their own contributions to the deposit contract. We will match their contribution 1:1 to make the option of depositing their own money attractive to this predominantly low SES population. In the second approach we build on our own prior work using lotteries to promote drug adherence. In this incentive condition, participants are entered into a daily lottery, and receive any payoffs they earn from the lottery only if they stay on track with their weight-loss goal. Given their popularity in the general population, lotteries hold the promise of providing a cost-effective means of motivating weight loss and making efforts to lose weight more salient to obese patients.

Conditions

Obesity

Keywords

Obesity; Weight Loss; Financial Incentives; Lottery; Deposit

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Mean weight loss will be greater in both experimental groups compared to the control group by the end of 16 weeks

  4 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Use the difference in weight loss measured at 16 weeks to project the long-term cost-effectiveness if weight loss is sustained

  4 Months

Study Arms (3)

Lottery

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants are entered into daily lotteries to win $10 or $100 every day their weight is at or below daily targets.

Behavioral: Financial Incentives

Deposit

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants receive $3/day if they are at or below their daily weight goals, plus have opportunity to deposit up to $3/day of their own money, which is then matched 1:1 every day they are at or below their daily weight goals.

Behavioral: Financial Incentives

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants would receive usual care from their providers and have monthly weigh ins.

Interventions

Financial Incentives BEHAVIORAL

Participants call in their weight on daily basis. Participants must report under their daily targets to qualify for entry into lottery. Call-in weights are verified at monthly weigh-ins.

Lottery

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 30 Years - 70 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• BMI between 30-40;
• Age between 30-70;
• At least moderately interested in losing weight (Self-reported 3,4, or 5 on 5 point scale)

You may not qualify if:

• Unstable medical conditions that would likely prevent the subject from completing the study;
• Myocardial infarction within 6 months;
• Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as BP\>170 mm Hg systolic or BP\>110 mm Hg diastolic;
• Metastatic cancer;
• Self-report of 6 or more alcoholic beverages per day;
• Severe depression;
• Active substance abuse;
• Schizophrenia
• Inability to read or severe cognitive deficits that would preclude ability to read consent form or fill out surveys.
• Baseline participation in other weight loss programs.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pennsylvania: lead
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: collaborator
• USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center: collaborator
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Volpp KG, John LK, Troxel AB, Norton L, Fassbender J, Loewenstein G. Financial incentive-based approaches for weight loss: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2008 Dec 10;300(22):2631-7. doi: 10.1001/jama.2008.804.

  PMID: 19066383 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity; Weight Loss

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Body Weight Changes

Study Officials

• Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD

  Univesity of Pennsylvania

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• George Loewenstein, PhD

  Carnegie Mellon University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Leslie John, PhD cand.

  Carnegie Mellon University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 22, 2007
• First Posted: August 24, 2007
• Study Start: June 1, 2007
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2008
• Study Completion: December 1, 2009
• Last Updated: June 11, 2015

Record last verified: 2010-01

Locations

US (1)