Study: Incentives aren’t helping employees lose weight

Workplace wellness programs promising lower health insurance premiums haven’t helped employees lose the extra pounds, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Health Affairs.

After a year, obese workers had lost less than 1.5 pounds on average, statistically no different than the minute average gain of a tenth of a pound for those employees who weren’t offered a financial incentive to shed weight.

Nearly 200 obese employees of the University of Pennsylvania health system participated in the study, which divided the workers into one of four study groups. One group wasn’t offered any financial incentive while the other three were offered an incentive valued at $550.

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