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Even a modest incentive such as parking voucher or grocery coupon can encourage people to stick with their exercise program

Can financial incentives inspire exercise?

When it comes to sticking to an exercise plan, we're all looking for solutions to ensure that new healthy habits transform into long-term lifestyle changes.

PhD candidate Marc Mitchell has published findings in the September online issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggesting that receiving coupons and vouchers for as little as five dollars can help people stick to new fitness regimes.

Under the guidance of Professors Jack Goodman and Guy Faulkner, Mitchell has completed a systematic review of research into the efficacy of financial incentives in inspiring lifestyle and health behaviour change, specifically in people who've experienced cardiac problems. His analysis suggests that these small rewards increase the odds that patients will maintain an active lifestyle in the longer term.

Mitchell's project looked specifically at 1500 patients as they transitioned out of Toronto鈥檚 Rehab鈥檚 cardiac program, designed to help people with heart disease improve their strength and fitness to reduce their chances of future heart problems.

鈥淧atients do great during the six-month program,鈥 observes Mitchell. 鈥淏ut a lot of them stop exercising after they leave. The idea is to offer a modest incentive to facilitate that transition to independent exercise.鈥 In the model that Mitchell is working on, patients will receive these incentives after submitting their daily exercise logs, through an online portal called, 鈥淏estLifeRewarded.鈥

During the second phase of his project, Mitchell led patient focus groups to determine which types of incentives resonate most with the cardiac rehab patients. Many liked the idea of receiving parking vouchers to supplement their costly trips to the hospital, while others preferred grocery store vouchers or a chance to donate their incentive to a charity of their choice.

Mitchell predicts that the act of submitting the entries will serve as a stepping stone to developing increased awareness and continued patient engagement.

鈥淚f they submit an empty entry, they鈥檒l still get the incentive,鈥 he explains. 鈥淛ust doing that will continue to encourage them to self-monitor. We think of it as a gentle nudge; it鈥檚 not supposed to be a carrot that we鈥檙e dangling.鈥

The final stage of the project 鈥 the launch of the pilot program 鈥 is set to begin later this fall.

Valerie Iancovich is a writer with the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto.

 

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