SubscribeLosing Weight - Bet on it!
Weight loss clubs and pools have become popular in recent years whereby groups of people get together and have contests to see who can shed the most weight. Getting some form of financial reward can be motivational, but what if not reaching your goal meant you could lose your savings?
The Idea
Professors-turned-entrepreneurs Ian Ayres, an expert in contract law, and Dean Karlan, a behavioral economist believe that a binding contract may be the key to reaching your goals. Their company, StickK.com facilitates personal commitment contracts for weight loss and other personal goals. The idea was born out of Ayres' experience with losing weight, only to gain it back again. He would eventually bet Karlan $500 a week that he would lose 20 lbs. It worked very well and the two of them ran with the idea.
How it works
- Pick a commitment: Whether it is weight loss, running a marathon or quitting smoking, you choose your commitment.
- Create a contract: This is one click away on the site and it is actually quite a simple process that outlines the details of your goals including a number amount, a time frame and a sum of money.
- Fulfill your commitment: If you don't live up to your end of the contract, StickK will give your money to a charity or a person you designate.
For extra incentive, there is a list of anti-charities, or groups that many people oppose. To up the ante, you can opt to choose one of these as a potential destination for your money.
The psychology and economics behind the idea
The Yale professors are banking on 3 aspects of human nature:
- Preference for Commitment: The stakes help people act in their own self-interest. The contract helps them stay the course, according to Karlan. The educators believe that self-contracts and contracts with buddies only go so far as the stakes are not as high and the agreements are loosely followed, if at all.
- Loss Aversion: "What we know about incentives is that people work a lot harder to avoid losing $10 than they will work to gain $10," explains Ayres. "So something that's framed as a loss is really effective at changing behavior."
- Time inconsistency: This is a situation whereby individuals' actions for today are inconsistent with their goals of tomorrow (i.e. eating that Boston cream donut today, even though the goal is to be leaner tomorrow.)
Will it work?
This idea has a remarkable potential for broad-ranging success. With the popularity of weight loss wagers already in full swing, this idea could catch on - especially given that the service is FREE.
The crux of this issue is whether this kind of intervention will manifest itself into sustainable, long-term lifestyle changes. The kind that transform our mindsets to be healthy for the sake of it - not for fear of donating our hard-earned money to the Paris Hilton Defense Fund.
Additional Sources: NPR
Great idea thing is if you lose weight you save money because you don't eat so much. Wonder if iot will taske off
ReplyI heard just the other day of another blogger who has successfully used this trick herself to reach her goal weight - with a friend holding on to the promised cheque:
http://girlgetsitdone.blogspot.com/2008/03/show-me-money.html
ReplyI do wonder, though, if this will encourage unhealthy attempts focusing entirely on weight loss, and discourage health as a total. (Focus on what you eat, and the amount and quality of exercise, to me, is preferable than to just eating very little even though the weight will drop.)
A lot of people I've seen doing such competitions lose huge amounts a week mainly by near-starvation level diets, and it doesn't last.
I'm sure there must be a way to set it up to encourage health in the process. Maybe exercise requirements and a cap of 1% of your body weight lost a week? I dunno.
ReplyI don't think this will necessarily work. How many people pay for a gym membership and never go?
I'm very cheap, so when I first joined a gym when I started trying to lose weight, even if my legs were killing me from the previous day's walk, I'd go there to stretch only, cause I had a figure in my mind of how much that was costing me a day, and you bet I was gonna use it (I lived in a nicer neighborhood at the time, so 7 years ago my gym cost me 3x what I pay now). But most people don't care, so not sure how losing money a different way is gonna encourage them.
ReplyThe problem with that logic for getting people to the gym that they've paid for (are paying for) is that the money is already spent. Yes they are making the most of the money spent if they actually go but they won't get it back. When weight loss/health seem like intangible goals going to the gym more to make the most it isn't going to help and doesn't actually save you money.
ReplyBut they can lie, as was said.
ReplyThe problem with that logic for getting people to the gym that they've paid for (are paying for) is that the money is already spent. Yes they are making the most of the money spent if they actually go but they won't get it back. When weight loss/health seem like intangible goals going to the gym more to make the most it isn't going to help and doesn't actually save you money.
ReplyI think rewards are a good motivation but I wouldn`t loose my savings over someone else losing a pound more than me.
ReplyHmmm...I suppose they don't lose the money if they promptly gain back every pound and then some?
ReplyAt my work a few people did a Biggest Loser type contest a couple of years ago just after new years. It seemed to be a lot of fun with weigh-ins happening multiple times a day.
I don't know if anyone won.
ReplyCall me the devil's advocate, but what's to stop people from just outright lying? I seriously wonder how many people would shell out money when they don't lose weight. (I, of course, would be COMPLETELY honest and if I didn't meet my goal, I'd pay the cash)
I also don't really agree with lost weight at all costs. The Biggest Loser promotes dropping pounds, but that's not the only indication of success. I think a lot of people might get discouraged if they don't lose a lot of weight, even if they are getting healthier and losing inches.
ReplyThis is like the book by John Bear The Blackmail Diet, "a quasi-humorous but psychologically valid method of imparting motivation to lose weight by blackmailing oneself in various ways. Essentially, one creates a contract that, once given to others, has hugely unacceptable consequences to the dieter which are out of his control." (from Wikipedia). he put $5,000 into an account that could only be accessed by a friend, and, if he did not lose a certain amount of weight ny a certain time, the friend was to withdraw the money and send it to the American Nazi party! Needless to say, he lost the weight.
ReplyJust having like minded people around you can make losing weight easier you don`t have to lose any money just feed off of each others ideas and support.
ReplyI tried the "negative charity" contract thing years ago. I'm still receiving mail from the Republican Party! *Sigh* It works if it works, but if you don't there is a price to pay! LOL!
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