ACC: Gamification Plus Financial Incentives Boost Physical Activity
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, April 11, 2024 -- Behaviorally designed gamification and financial incentives boost physical activity in patients at high risk for cardiovascular events, according to a study published online April 7 in Circulation to coincide with the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, held from April 6 to 8 in Atlanta.
Alexander C. Fanaroff, M.D., from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined the effect of behaviorally designed gamification, loss-framed financial incentives, or the combination on physical activity versus an attention control during a 12-month intervention and a six-month postintervention period. The analysis included 1,062 participants with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or a 10-year risk for myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death ≥7.5 percent.
The researchers found that compared with controls, participants randomly assigned to the gamification arm (adjusted difference, 538.0), financial incentives arm (adjusted difference, 491.8), and gamification + financial incentives arm (adjusted difference, 868.0) had significantly greater increases in mean daily steps from baseline during the 12-month intervention. Physical activity remained significantly greater only in the gamification + financial incentives arm versus the control arm during the six-month follow-up (adjusted difference, 576.2).
"These interventions could be a useful component of strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk in high-risk patients," the authors write.
One author disclosed co-ownership of a behavioral economics consulting firm, VAL Health.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted April 2024
Read this next
Researchers Compare Race-Based, Race-Neutral Lung Function Equations
TUESDAY, May 21, 2024 -- The use of race-based and race-neutral equations for lung-function testing generate similarly accurate predictions of respiratory outcomes, but differ in...
Survival Benefit for Cancer Trial Participants Does Not Persist in Adjusted Analyses
TUESDAY, May 21, 2024 -- In studies using designs addressing sources of bias and confounding, there is no evidence of a survival benefit for cancer trial participants, according...
Genital Talc Use Positively Linked to Ovarian Cancer
TUESDAY, May 21, 2024 -- There is a positive association between use of intimate care products, including genital talc, and ovarian cancer, according to a study published online...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.