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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Some people need extra motivation to lose weight. New research shows cash could help people achieve short-term weight loss.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania created two financial incentive programs to encourage weight loss; a lottery system where participants received money if they achieved or surpassed target weight at weigh-ins, and a deposit program where patients lost their own money if they failed to meet weight loss goals.
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At the end of the study, researchers found both incentive groups lost significantly more weight than the control group who attempted to lose weight independently. Over 16 weeks, the lottery group lost an average of 13.1 pounds and the deposit group lost an average of 14.0 pounds. The control group lost only 3.9 pounds.
Seven months after the study ended, participants in both incentive groups gained weight back, but still weighed less than they did at the beginning of the study.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008;300:2631-2637
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