Testing Strategies to Encourage Weight Loss in an Employer Setting

This is a 3-arm pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of two novel
ways of structuring financial incentives to motivate and sustain long-term weight loss. The
study will recruit eligible employees at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to
participate in a 6-month weight loss program and an additional 3-month follow-up period.
The primary outcome measure in this randomized control trial will be pounds of weight lost
between baseline and 6 months. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether a novel
financial incentive program delivered through a workplace can effectively encourage
sustained weight loss among obese employees.

The study hypotheses are 1) mean weight loss will be greater in all the intervention groups
compared to the control group by the end of the 24-week intervention period; and 2)
individuals in the intervention groups will have a lower mean weight at the end of the
12-week follow-up period than individuals in the control group.