Financial vs. Non-Financial Rewards for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance
Obesity
About this trial
This is an interventional prevention trial for Obesity focused on measuring motivation, patient incentives
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Veteran
- BMI>=30 at enrollment
- weigh less than 390lbs
- Active patient in primary care or women's clinic (1+ visit in last year)
- Access to a text capable phone in the Veteran's household or active email address
- live in Seattle area the entire year
- access to the internet
Exclusion Criteria:
- behavioral flag
- serious mental illness or anti-psychotic medication
- eating disorder and/or sexual trauma
- MOVE! participation in past 4 months
- pregnant or planning to become pregnant
- prisoner/employee/student
- inability to independently stand
- inability to read
- insulin dependent
- impaired decision making
- no access to a cell phone or phone that can receive text messages
- inability to remove socks & shoes
- >5% of body weight lost in last 6 months (clinical data and self-report)
- unable to pass cognitive screening
Sites / Locations
- VA Puget Sound Health Care System Seattle Division, Seattle, WA
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
No Intervention
Experimental
Experimental
No Reward
Financial Reward Arm
Non-financial Reward Arm
At enrollment, participants randomized to usual care will be given the MOVE! workbook that serves both as an information resource on diet and exercise, a resource for tools to achieve weight loss goals, and a log of participants' goals, motivations, and outcomes. Each participant will be given a chart with a personalized target weight for a loss of 1lb. per week for 16 weeks. Participants will be given a digital scale or wireless scale and counseled to weigh themselves daily. Participants will enter their weight weekly into an online portal. They will also complete the surveys in the portal. They will receive text message reminders to enter their weight.
Same as usual care, plus financial rewards that are earned in two ways: an assured and random. For the assured reward, they will receive compensation at the end of each month that they are at or below their target weight on the last day of that period. For the random portion, each week that a participant is at or below their target weight, the patient is entered in random drawing to win additional compensation. Over the first eight weeks the patient has a 1-in-8 chance of winning.Over the 17-32 week period, Veterans in this group will receive token rewards for tracking and reporting their weekly weights regardless of whether it was on target. Each week that the patient enters his/her weight into the portal, he will have a 1-in-8 chance to earn the token reward, such as a t-shirt or movie tickets. Participants will enter their weight weekly into an online portal. They will also complete the surveys in the portal. They will receive text message reminders to enter their weight.
Procedures for the non-financial rewards arm is identical to procedures for the financial reward arm, except that the Veteran will earn points rather than cash. Each week a random drawing will be for 20 points, each monthly weigh in is worth 5 points. Veterans will be given non-financial rewards associated with the number of points they earn.