Do financial incentives increase the efficacy of dietary interventions in adolescents with obesity?

Researchers examined whether financial incentives may improve outcomes in adolescent patients who received treatment for severe obesity, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

In the study, the researchers randomly assigned 126 adolescent patients aged 13 to 17 years with severe obesity to receive either meal-replacement therapy plus financial incentives or meal-replacement therapy alone between 2018 and 2022. Cardiometabolic risk factors — such as blood pressure, triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein ratio, heart rate variability and arterial stiffness — were also taken into consideration. They noted that meal-replacement therapy consisted of preportioned, calorie-controlled meals, while financial incentives were delivered on the basis of body weight reduction from baseline.

After a follow-up at 52 weeks, the researchers found that those who received financial incentives had greater mean reductions in body mass index and body fat mass compared with those who didn’t receive the financial incentives. There were no statistically significant differences in the increase of unhealthy weight-control behaviors or cardiometabolic risk factors between both groups.

The researchers proposed that financial incentives may increase adherence to dietary interventions.

Read more: JAMA Pediatrics

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