Small sustainable monetary incentives versus charitable donations to promote exercise: Rationale, design, and baseline data from a randomized pilot study.

ABSTRACT: Regular physical activity (PA) enhances weight-loss and reduces risk of chronic disease. However, as few as 10% of U.S. adults engage in regular PA. Incentive programs to promote PA have shown some promise, but have typically used incentives that are too large to sustain over time and have not demonstrated habit formation or been tested in community settings. This report presents the rationale and design of a randomized pilot study testing the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of small monetary incentives for PA (n=25) versus charitable donations in the same amount (n=25) versus control (n=25) over 12months among 75 low-active but otherwise healthy adults at a local YMCA. Incentives are based on YMCA attendance, which is verified by electronic swipe card data and is the primary study ou

SUBMITTER: Williams DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6022749 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature