Office-based workers spend the majority of their working day sitting, which may put them at risk. One potential way of reducing workplace sitting is through the installation of sit-stand desks (i.e. adjustable desks which allow individuals to work in sitting…
Paying People to Quit Smoking: Potent but Repugnant?
Writing in Nature, Professor Theresa Marteau and Dr Eleni Mantzari discuss the findings from a large randomised controlled trial of four financial incentive schemes for smoking cessation, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They note the promising…
Financial incentives help people change unhealthy behaviours but do not lead to lasting changes
According to new research published on the 2nd of April in the journal “Preventive Medicine”, financial incentives can motivate people, especially those from deprived backgrounds, to change behaviours that are bad for their health, but there is currently no evidence…
Shopping vouchers could help one in five pregnant women quit smoking
Financial incentives could help one in five women quit smoking during pregnancy, according to new research published in the journal Addiction. The study, led by researchers at the Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU), University of Cambridge and Centre for…
Choice architecture scoping review
We completed a systematic scoping review of studies assessing the effects of choice architecture interventions in micro-environments on diet, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco-related behaviours. Of the 346 studies found, 19% concerned physical activity. We proposed a definition and typology…