The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 72 of the 72 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Financial incentives for physical activity in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Objective: The use of financial incentives to promote physical activity (PA) has grown in popularity due in part to technological advances that make it easier to track and reward PA. The purpose of this study was to update the evidence on the effects of incentives on PA in adults. Data sources: Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsychINFO, CCTR, CINAHL and COCH. Eligibility criteria: Randomised controlled trials (RCT) published between 2012 and May 2018 examining the impact of incentives on PA. Design: A simple count of studies with positive and null effects (‘vote counting’) was conducted. Random-effects meta-analyses were also undertaken for studies reporting steps per day for intervention and post-intervention periods. Results: 23 studies involving 6074 participants were included (64.42% female, mean age = 41.20 years). 20 out of 22 studies reported positive intervention effects and four out of 18 reported post-intervention (after incentives withdrawn) benefits. Among the 12 of 23 studies included in the meta-analysis, incentives were associated with increased mean daily step counts during the intervention period (pooled mean difference (MD), 607.1; 95% CI: 422.1 to 792.1). Among the nine of 12 studies with post-intervention daily step count data incentives were associated with increased mean daily step counts (pooled MD, 513.8; 95% CI:312.7 to 714.9). Conclusion: Demonstrating rising interest in financial incentives, 23 RCTs were identified. Modest incentives ($1.40 US/day) increased PA for interventions of short and long durations and after incentives were removed, though post-intervention ‘vote counting’ and pooled results did not align. Nonetheless, and contrary to what has been previously reported, these findings suggest a short-term incentive ‘dose’ may promote sustained PA.
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“Indeed, previous randomized studies have reported significant positive effects of financial incentives on physical activity (17).”
From Which Components of a Smartphone Walking App Help Users to Reach Personalized Step Goals? Results From an Optimization Trial (2020) · cites this paper as [17]
In the citing paper
“We chose the amount of CHF 1 per day because the lowest incentive value that has produced significant changes in physical activity in previous studies is around US$ 1 per day (≈ CHF 1 per day) (17).”
From Which Components of a Smartphone Walking App Help Users to Reach Personalized Step Goals? Results From an Optimization Trial (2020) · cites this paper as [17]
Citations
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“67 68 The undermining effect of extrinsic awards has historically been based on the tenets of self-determination theory (SDT) and studies examining the impact of incentives on motivation to do enjoyable tasks such as completing puzzles.”
Handbook of Self-Determination Research
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2004) · Cited by 4,528
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Kramer, J.-N., Künzler, F., Mishra, V., Smith, S. N., Kotz, D., Scholz, U., Fleisch, E., & Kowatsch, T. (2020) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaaa002 · Cited by 84
Effect of Different Financial Incentive Structures on Promoting Physical Activity Among Adults
Bachireddy, C., Joung, A., John, L. K., Gino, F., Tuckfield, B., Foschini, L., & Milkman, K. L. (2019) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9863 · Cited by 75
Vetrovsky, T., Borowiec, A., Juřík, R., Wahlich, C., Śmigielski, W., Steffl, M., Tufano, J. J., Drygas, W., Stastny, P., Harris, T., et al. (2022) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2021-105198 · Cited by 68
“130 It is important to realise that not having a significant moderating effect, as was the case for financial incentives, text messages or in-person counselling, does not mean that the addition of these components had no impact on PA.”
InfluentialDigital Biomarker–Based Studies: Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews
Motahari-Nezhad, H., Fgaier, M., Abid, M. M., Péntek, M., Gulàcsi, L., & Zrubka, Z. (2022) · JMIR mhealth and uhealth · doi:10.2196/35722 · Cited by 70
“In total, 16 physiological and behavioral data groups were identified using the ICF tool, such as looking after one’s health (physical activity; 14/31, 45%) [39,40,43-48,52,55-57,64,68]; walking (11/31, 36%) [39-43,52,56,57,61,62,68]; heart rhythm (7/31, 23%) [49,51,53,54,66,67,69]; and weight maintenance functions (7…”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialMitchell, M., Lau, E. Y., White, L., & Faulkner, G. (2020) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-020-00926-7 · Cited by 54
“(2019) concluded that incentives increased mean daily step counts for short and long duration interventions by 607 steps [44].”
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Mitchell, M. S., Orstad, S. L., Biswas, A., Oh, P. I., Jay, M., Pakosh, M. T., & Faulkner, G.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- New York University (US)
- Institute for Work & Health (CA)
- University Health Network (CA)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Mitchell, Marc S
- ORCID
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2019-05-15
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 1259-1268
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- OpenAlex
- W2945344227
- Semantic Scholar
- bfe04d845af60ca550cb3e4a4a1c234ec34621b8
- Cited by
- 143
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 2.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Keywords
- financial incentives, physical activity promotion, step count, adults, sustained physical activity, health behavior change, wearable activity trackers
- MeSH terms
- Fitness Trackers, Adult, Health Promotion, Humans, Motivation, Time Factors, Token Economy, Health Behavior, Exercise
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