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When you see that co-worker, friend or relative who has dropped some noticeable weight, one big question probably pops into your mind: “How did you do it?” Part of you may be wishing he or she will say "Here, with this!" while presenting some magical weight loss miracle that you, too, can use.
Unfortunately, we all know that’s not how it works. Being healthy takes some serious effort, but what if there were something that would give you extra incentive to take on the hard work of weight loss and make you put your money where your mouth is?
When I look at celebrities, sometimes I think that of course they are in excellent shape and eat perfectly healthy, their livelihoods depend so much on their appearance that they are basically paid to be healthy.
What if us regular folk could do something similar?
There are a handful of new programs that are taking advantage of the age-old phenomenon that, for better or worse, money is a fantastic motivator, and you can literally get paid to lose weight!
Websites have cropped up recently wherein you can "bet" on your own weight loss success. The specifics differ slightly from site to site, but the general idea is that if you want to lose weight, you can place a bet on yourself by setting a goal (such as losing 10 percent of your body weight within four months) and then actually put up some money as a stake that you will achieve that goal.
If you do achieve your goal, you win — you accomplished something great, you get all your money back and, in some cases, a good bit more!
If you don’t reach your goal, you will lose your hard-earned money.
In research, financial incentives have been shown to improve weight loss. Recent randomized control trials have demonstrated that those who were able to wager money on their own weight loss success lost significantly more weight than those who didn’t. One study cited three times more weight loss in the incentive group, and a five-fold increased likelihood of achieving weight loss goals.
The psychological theory that these programs capitalize on is loss aversion: In general, humans really don’t like losing what we already have and value. We tend be less risky when we have the potential to lose money, versus when there’s just a hope that we will gain it.
This is why these programs require us to put up our own money, because it should make us work even harder to avoid the potential of losing it.
Interestingly, this principle of loss aversion isn’t typically utilized in our standard behavioral weight-loss programs. Although we often suggest that individuals reward themselves for making healthy behavior changes and for successfully achieving their goals, these rewards are gains rather than losses. Based on principles of loss aversion, gaining rewards may not be nearly as powerful a motivator.
So, would you bet on it?
What amount of money would you have to put up to really motivate yourself to get healthy, and, since these programs don’t last forever, would you be able to sustain these healthy changes once there is no longer money at stake?
Research studies indicate that weight may be regained once the incentivized period is over, but, if the healthy changes required to lose weight can be incorporated into your lifestyle and truly become a part of who you are, then there is a great chance you could keep the weight off. To encourage this (and to dissuade potentially unhealthy methods for losing weight) many commercial programs recommend realistic weight loss goals of about 1 to 2 pounds per week, and they tend to last at least 90 days.
Could these long standing principles of loss aversion be the ‘new miracle’ that helps many of us get and stay healthy — it might be worth a bet!
— Kathryn Demos is a cognitive neuroscientist with the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital, and a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University.
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