Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29480440›Full record

Trial reportJournal of behavioral medicine2018

Physical activity after commitment lotteries: examining long-term results in a cluster randomized trial.

Koen van der Swaluw, Mattijs S Lambooij, Jolanda J P Mathijssen, Maarten Schipper, Marcel Zeelenberg, Stef Berkhout, Johan J Polder, Henriëtte M Prast

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of behavioral medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Enhancing Weight Loss Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Financial Incentives and Behavior Change Techniques.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Promoting healthy behaviour with financial incentives: three challenges and solutions for large scale implementation.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Koen van der SwaluwTilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tranzo Scientific Center for Care and Welfare, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands. k.vdrswaluw@tilburguniversity.edu.
Mattijs S LambooijDepartment of Quality of Care and Health Economics, Center for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), PO Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Jolanda J P MathijssenTilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tranzo Scientific Center for Care and Welfare, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Maarten SchipperDepartment of Statistics, Informatics and Modelling, Center for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), PO Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Marcel ZeelenbergDepartment of Social Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Stef BerkhoutDepartment of Quality Management, High Five Health Promotion, Schinkeldijkje 18, 1432 CE, Aalsmeer, The Netherlands.
Johan J PolderTilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tranzo Scientific Center for Care and Welfare, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Henriëtte M PrastDepartment of Finance, Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Tilburg University · NLNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To overcome self-control difficulties, people can commit to their health goals by voluntarily accepting deadlines with consequences. In a commitment lottery, the winners are drawn from all participants, but can only claim their prize if they also attained their gym-attendance goals. In a 52-week, three-arm trial across six company gyms, we tested if commitment lotteries with behavioral economic underpinnings would promote physical activity among overweight adults. In previous work, we presented an effective 26-week intervention. In the present paper we analyzed maintenance of goal attainment at 52-week follow-up and the development of weight over time. We compared weight and goal attainment (gym attendance ≥ 2 per week) between three arms that-in the intervention period- consisted of (I) weekly short-term lotteries for 13 weeks; (II) the same short-term lotteries in combination with an additional long-term lottery after 26 weeks; and (III) a control arm without lottery-deadlines. After a successful 26-week intervention, goal attainment declined between weeks 27 and 52 in the long-term lottery arm, but remained higher than in the control group. Goal attainment did not differ between the short-term lottery arm and control arm. Weight declined slightly in all arms in the first 13 weeks of the trial and remained stable from there on. Commitment lotteries can support regular gym attendance up to 52 weeks, but more research is needed to achieve higher levels of maintenance and weight loss.

Indexed as

GoalsWeight LossExercise TherapyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedOverweightTime FactorsBehavioral economicsBehavior changeCommitment devicesDeadlinesPhysical activityPrevention

Identifiers

PMID29480440
PMCPMC6061083
OpenAlexW2790276602

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.