Would you modify your diet if we made it worth your while?

Could 'We’ll pay you to lose weight' be a future government health campaign?

Researchers from Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin joined forces to review the research evidence about the effectiveness of monetary incentives in modifying dietary behaviour, and the results suggest there’s potential in this theory.

The researchers found only four studies which met their criteria, but all four trials demonstrated a positive link between monetary incentives and food purchases, food consumption or weight loss.

The researchers suggest monetary incentives are a promising strategy to modify dietary behaviour and would like to see more research, particularly with population groups at high risk of nutrition-related diseases. No studies have yet assessed effects according to socioeconomic or ethnic group or measured the cost-effectiveness of such schemes.

Source: Nutrition Reviews, December 2006