Small Monetary Incentives to Promote Exercise (Exercise4Good; EX4G)

Obesity, Physical Activity

Incentives, Motivation

This study is for physically inactive adults with an active membership at a Greater Providence Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). Participants will receive weekly feedback on their attendance at the YMCA, and will be enrolled in the study for 1 year. Participants will be assigned to one of three conditions, to either receive weekly: (i) monetary incentives, (ii) donations to a charity of their choice, or (iii) feedback only. In order to continue to receive incentives, participants must maintain an active membership at the YMCA.

The investigators propose to conduct a pilot study to test feasibility and proof-of-concept for two incentive programs to promote exercise among low-active overweight and obese adults. To address weaknesses in the literature, the programs will be (a) conducted in a community setting by the Greater Providence YMCAs and (b) financially sustainable, such that they do not require removal of the incentives after a specified period of time. In both incentive programs, participants will pay the standard monthly YMCA membership fee. In the Rebate incentive program, participants will have the opportunity to earn a small monetary incentive to exercise for each day that they attend the YMCA (verified by objective swipe-card data), with a maximum of 5 exercise sessions being incentivized per week. In the Donation incentive program, participants will have the opportunity to earn a small monetary incentive to exercise in the form of donations (using the same incentive schedule) to a registered local charity of the participant's choice. Thus, the proposed study will compare three experimental conditions: (a) Rebate incentives (n=25); (b) Donation incentives (n=25); and (c) Control (i.e., no incentives) (n=25). The Primary Aims are to test (1) feasibility of the two incentive programs, (2) feasibility of the research methods to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the two incentive programs, and (3) proof-of-concept for the two incentive programs (relative to control), through comparison of average number of sessions/week with incentives over one year. Secondary outcomes will be self-reported minutes per week of exercise over one year. The proposed research will provide a preliminary investigation into two community-based, financially sustainable incentive programs to promote exercise for adults who are at increased risk for cancer. Positive findings from such a trial would provide a fast-track for a community-based ready-to-implement exercise promotion intervention. Additionally, such findings would have significant implications for the use of financially sustainable incentive programs for exercise through other community organizations (e.g., privately-owned health clubs), healthcare organizations, or employers (e.g., employer fitness facilities), as well as providing a model for incentive programs for other health-related behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss).

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United States