Financial incentives could help teens with severe obesity lose weight

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-06-18 01:00

International

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Financial incentives could help teens with severe obesity to lose weight, according to international researchers. The team performed a trial among teens age 13-17 with severe obesity, offering meal replacement therapy, or meal replacement therapy plus a $20 gift card for every 0.5% reduction in body weight. Those in the latter group had a greater reduction in body mass and total body fat mass, compared to those who received replacement meal therapy alone. There was also no increase in unhealthy weight-control behaviours in the gift card group compared to the people who received the group who received meal replacement therapy alone.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Pediatrics

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Minnesota, USA

Funder: This research was supported by grants R01DK113631, K23DK129721, K23DK125668, and K23DK124654 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and UL1TR002494 from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Healthy For Life Meals provided financial assistance with the meal program (a discounted rate on the meals provided for meal replacement therapy).

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