Financial Incentives & Opportunities to Donate to Charity Increase Activity in Older Adults

Personal and social goals may be effective in motivating older adults to exercise, according to a study this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine from CHIBE researchers Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH and Jason Karlawish, MD.  In a 16 week period, both financial incentives and opportunity to donate to charity increased walking in older adults, by 2,348 steps and 2,562 steps per day, respectively. This study is among the first few studies looking at the effectiveness of financial incentives in improving health behavior in older adults, and helps address some limitations of earlier studies.

Read more in Reuters.