I'd expect that simply paying people would also improve rate of weight loss.<p>If you buy and eat less processed food with higher levels of protein, fiber, and fat, you're likely to manage your appetite far better than if you just smash loads of donuts and crisps.<p>It's cheaper to eat nonfood though, particularly if you take preparation into account.
> A total of 1280 adults with obesity ... could earn up to $750.<p>A financial incentive to lose weight is also a financial incentive to qualify for the incentive program. If it becomes a policy instead of a one-off study, and you could qualify by gaining a few pounds, you can justify your next binge as a duty to your family.<p>As a champion binge-justifier I can testify that this is an easy one. Advanced justifiers can do it from just a palindrome in the current date, in the Babylonian calendar.
If this were true, insurance companies would already be doing this.<p>There are many medical issues that could be lessened if people could be convinced to stop eating so much.