Ok, this was strange. It sounds like a ponzi scheme really. But the thing that makes it weirder is that I actually know a school teacher involved in one of these weight loss pools at her work. The potential for gain, from what she said, was not worth the anticipated pain of loss.
In the study, which was conducted at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, participants were allowed to form “teams” to support each other in their weight-loss attempts, and were paid a pro-rated amount depending on how much weight they lost. So what if Cowen’s model were modified; instead of a simple lose-or-win model, the customer’s contribution becomes an investment. Weight loss aspirants could contribute the same $200 with the possibility of getting back $250 or $300, depending on their level of weight loss. Presumably, most customers would not meet their goals; weight loss is hard, and setting a realistic deadline is harder. Based on this assumption, a given company could promise higher returns to successful aspirants without the fear of running in the red.
This sort of self-based gambling could be useful with enforcing all kinds of behavior changes: quitting smoking, driving less, reading more. Granted, all the behavior changes have to be easily proven, but time-stamped photographs or short-answer questions could be enough to verify the veracity of customers’ progress.
Of course, there’s an ethical gray area when it comes to making a profit on people’s negative self image. Doubtless, many customers would lose money by setting unattainable poundage goals or deadlines; in that case, the loss of their pledged amount just serves to add insult to the injury of their failure to change themselves, and might encourage future failure. To boot, it encourages aspirants to keep their quest between themselves and their savings account, instead of turning to friends and family for support and encouragement. I’m also uncomfortable with the suggestion (which is tacit in the study) that people’s financial well-being is more important than their corporal well-being. According to the findings, people were willing to lose 5% of their body weight for only $14. That either makes weight loss seem surprisingly easy, or $14 seem surprisingly valuable.
So the question is, will any entrepreneurs be savvy (or sick) enough to give incentivized behavior modification a shot? Would it actually work, as the UNC study suggests, or achieve mediocrity (or failure), as Cowen predicts?
No comments yet.