Skip to main content

ACC: Gamification Plus Financial Incentives Boost Physical Activity

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 11, 2024.

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.

Abstract/Full Text

More Information

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.

Read this next

ACG: 2000 to 2022 Saw Rise in Early-Onset CRC Mortality in the United States

THURSDAY, Oct. 31, 2024 -- Early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC) mortality rose in the United States over the past two decades, most notably in patients aged 20 to 44 years...

Early Aortic Valve Intervention Not Beneficial for Severe Aortic Stenosis

THURSDAY, Oct. 31, 2024 -- For patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis and myocardial fibrosis, early aortic valve intervention does not impact all-cause death or...

ASN: Hypertension Most Common Cardiovascular Comorbidity Seen With Dialysis

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 30, 2024 -- Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease (CVD) comorbidity seen among dialysis patients globally, according to a study presented at...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.