A New Approach To Losing Weight

Stop nagging and start paying if you want a loved one to lose weight, suggests a recent study from the Mayo Clinic.

People who are offered a financial incentive to slim down are more likely to adhere to a weight-loss program than those who don’t receive a payout, according to the research, which involved 100 adult volunteers divided into four groups. Two groups received no inducements to diet, while dieters in the other two groups were given $20 in each month when they lost four pounds but paid a penalty of $20 a month when they failed.

People in the incentive groups were more likely to stick with the one-year experiment even when they had to pay up. In addition, these dieters lost four times as much weight as those who weren’t offered monetary rewards.