We’d all like to believe that we’re disciplined, capable, powerful humans. That if there’s a change to be made, we’ll make it; simple as that.
But it isn’t always that simple. Especially when it comes to large-scale lifestyle changes, and weight loss.
Last week, I came home from work one night and was preparing myself for bed when I got a sudden craving for popcorn. It was 9:00pm, and I wasn’t particularly hungry; I had already eaten plenty for dinner, and there was no need to calorie-fuel for my impending snooze. I had also been trying to make healthier decisions; preparing for knee surgery, my mobility was limited and so most exercise was unattainable. Thus, diet was more important than ever. I had a trip to Costa Rica coming up, and wanted to feel confident in my bathing suit. I knew all of these things. I knew what the right decision would be to further my goals.
I made the popcorn.
We are flawed beings, and it can be exhausting and frustrating when we feel like we want to change; our own willpower is just not enough to actually make it happen. And over time, this inaction can amount to really large problems; for example, obesity. That’s where cash can help.
In 2008, a groundbreaking study was published in the renowned Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).The intent of this randomized clinical trial was to determine whether common decision errors identified by behavioral economists such as prospect theory, loss aversion, and regret could be used to design an effective weight loss intervention. Their conclusion: absolutely.
The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, divided a group of dieters (in the same weight loss program) into groups. One of the groups received no financial incentive. Another group was given the opportunity to contribute their own money as a ‘deposit’ on a daily basis throughout the program. As a negative incentive, if the dieters in this group failed to achieve their goal they lost the cash deposit. As a positive incentive, the dieters were offered a cash prize of up to three times their deposit if they achieved their weight loss goal.
The results were astounding. Dieters in the incentive group lost more weight than dieters in the non-incentive group, and dieters in the incentive group were more likely than dieters in the non-incentive group to achieve their weight loss goal.
The JAMA study kickstarted a new wave of research eager to understand how the application of behavioral economic principles could be utilized to inform interventions addressing the obesity crisis in America. Studies have replicated and continued building on the JAMA findings ever since, the most recent of which was a weight loss trial with results published in 2019. Notably, there was a highly significant difference in participation/program completion rate of the 12-month program between those with a financial incentive and those without; 62% compared to 26%, respectively. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the amount of weight lost between the groups, with researchers calculating the estimated effect of incentives to be 6.5 pounds. That’s pretty incredible if you think about it; that with all other variables controlled, money alone was responsible for an average of 6.5 more pounds lost!
“There’s one thing that motivates me a lot and it’s money…especially my own money.” -Allison P
So why does cash have this amazing power over our weight loss? It really comes down to two principles: loss aversion and reward. A tale of negative and positive reinforcement.
Loss aversion is an incredibly powerful concept, rooted in the thought that the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining. Therefore, the fear of losing something (e.g., dollars) can motivate us to kick our behavioral change strategies into high gear, working much harder than we normally would in order to avoid a painful loss. It is thereby critical that an effective application of this concept to weight loss includes the wagering of one’s own money, so that the risk of that loss is salient.
“One thing I heard from a lot of people was that you have to have a big enough ‘why.’ Your ‘why’ has to be bigger than what you’re doing. Doing HealthyWage, I put as much money as I could afford into my bet so if I was looking at a brownie, I’d ask myself – Can I afford to eat that brownie? I’m going to stay on this diet because if I don’t, it’s going to cost me $2,000. Is it $2,000 to skip that workout? Doing that was an excellent motivator because it kept me on track. I’m leaving money on the table if I don’t do this everyday.” -Elijah P
The second side of this double-edged motivational sword is reward. Positive reinforcement and operant conditioning principles have been fundamental to the study of behavioral psychology for decades, with the premise being that if you reward a behavior, it is more likely to occur (or to occur again). Thus; we’re more motivated to lose weight if there is a prize waiting for us at the end to say “Congratulations!” Rewards are simple but effective drivers of behavioral change- visit any city festival, and you’ll encounter dozens of booths successfully luring in new clients with promises of a free tshirt, or entrance in a cash prize raffle for signing up.
“I was so fed up trying to muster up enough willpower and self-discipline to lose weight, but the thing that finally got me to actually DO it was the HealthyWager challenge! I really want to go to Italy with my husband, but plane tickets aren’t cheap. I figured if I did this challenge I would win enough money for the plane ticket, and that kept me motivated! Both my husband and I chose to do this challenge and we will be able to afford tickets to cross the Atlantic after this!” – Kristina F
Based on these findings, unbelievable advancements in the weight loss industry have occurred; namely, the creation of HealthyWage. This weight-loss company allows you to individually challenge yourself to hit a weight loss goal, wagering a self-determined amount of money every month on your success. An innovative calculator algorithm then computes your prize amount, with financial returns of 11-300% on investment! You can adjust details as many times in the calculator as you would like prior to making your bet, in order to ascertain the exact time frame, weight, and monetary amount that will be most motivating to you.
“I played around with the HealthyWager calculator for a few hours before making my bet. We had wanted the payout to be a big number and were glad to see that they offered monthly deductions rather than a lump sum. We selected our amount to specifically be the amount for a trip or a few credit cards.”- Daniel C
“Once I played with the calculator and saw how much I could win, I took the plunge.” -Kerry B
Making large-scale lifestyle changes and losing weight is hard. But with the advent of behavioral science research, we now know that money can provide that extra boost of motivation needed to commit to a program, and lose the lbs!
“Introspection tells me that I am a competitive person and Healthy Wage was just what I needed to have that advantage over my weight. The extra incentive of gaining cash while losing weight and becoming a new fit version of myself was all I needed to proceed. Paying monthly along with keeping track through the app was instrumental in my success. The payment was a reminder that I am in it to win it.” -Alicia S
If you’re ready to run your own behavioral economics experiment and further put these research hypotheses to the test, sign up for HealthyWage! It might just be the key you’ve been searching for.