For the study, researchers monitored the activity and use of Fitbit Zips among 800 employees aged 21 to 65 years working at 13 different organizations in Singapore. The trial was designed to assess to what extent an activity tracker could increase physical activity both with and without financial incentives for the user.
For the first six months, participants were separated into four cohorts: a control group given information about physical activity and $4 per week but no Fitbit; a group that received a Fitbit and the $4 weekly payment; a group that received a Fitbit plus $15 for every week that they logged between 50,000 and 70,000 steps; and a group that could donate $30 to a charity of their choice if they clocked more than 70,000 steps in a week.
At the conclusion of the first six months of the trial when financial incentives came to an end, only participants in the cash incentive group recorded increases in physical activity. The control group’s rate of activity decreased from the beginning of the trial to the end of the first six months. Activity rates among the other participants remained steady.
After twelve months, activity among the cash incentive group declined, though activity among the charity group increased. The health of participants did not improve for any group at either of the study’s intervals.
“While there was some progress early on, once the incentives were stopped, volunteers did worse than if the incentives had never been offered and most stopped wearing the trackers,” said lead author Professor Eric Finkelstein, PhD, from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. “We found no evidence that the device promoted weight loss or improved blood pressure or cardiorespiratory fitness, either with or without financial incentives.”
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