united states headquarters new york ny united states founder s david roddenberry jimmy fleming website healthywage.com launched 2009 healthywage is an innovation focused wellness company that designs and implements weight loss and step challenges with cash prizes . the company is noted for pushing public discussion on health incentive issues and for launching programs that use cash prizes financial commitment teamwork and positive peer pressure to achieve weight loss results at the corporate and consumer levels . 1 in january 2010 the company became the first in the united states to offer a free health incentive directly to consumers . 2 contents 1 services 2 history 3 references 4 external links 4.1 official sites services edit healthywage develops programming based on academic and industry research on the impact of social networking and financial incentives on the effectiveness of wellness program outcomes . 3 the healthywager program allows participants to bet on their weight loss based on how much they want to wager each month how much weight they want to lose and how long they give themselves to reach that goal . this model provides a double incentivization in the form of loss aversion and winning money . 4 for example a 2012 mayo clinic study that found people who received financial incentives stuck with healthy behaviors longer losing on average seven more pounds than their colleagues who did no have a financial incentive . the 10 000 team challenge is a weight loss competition in which teams of five use teamwork and tools to lose weight over a period of time . 5 healthywage pays a large prize to the participants with the greatest percentage weight loss . 6 the most important factor in healthywage s most successful program to date is that the team wins as a group so every member has a stake in other members success . 7 the jackpot challenge is a weight loss competition where teams generally 4 to 9 teammates compete to lose a team average of 6 % of their body weight by the end of the 12 week challenge . at the end of the challenge all of the successful teams win an equal share of the jackpot . 8 the step challenge involves teams competing to increase their fitness levels through activity tracked via step tracking devices . participants that increase their steps a specific percentage typically a 20 25 % increase by the end of the challenge win an equal share of the pot . during the summer of 2016 the company leveraged the popularity of the pokemon go app to incentivize players with cash rewards for getting out and hitting their step goals . 9 weight loss competitions reflect a broader trend of companies incentivizing employees financially for healthy behavior from regular gym use to quitting smoking . 10 a study published in the journal of the american medical association 11 found those with a financial incentive to lose weight were almost five times more likely to reach their target than dieters with no money at stake . 12 history edit healthywage was founded in 2009 in new york city by former healthcare consultant david roddenberry and his colleague jimmy fleming . the company launched its website later that year at techcrunch in san francisco . 13 healthywage users join programs tailored to specific goals like losing weight and step tracking . healthywage s first program the bmi challenge paid americans who moved from an obese bmi to a normal bmi . 14 the 10 % challenge allowed participants to double down on their weight loss . participants put 150 on the line and won 300 if they lost 10 % of their weight over six months . 15 references edit bernstein lenny 2011 10 10 . do programs that pay people to lose weight really work . the washington post . retrieved 2011 11 30 . sayre carolyn 2010 01 04 . a new weight loss plan getting paid to shed pounds . time . retrieved 2010 07 30 . wilson jacque 2013 04 19 . family wins 10k after losing 255 pounds . cnn . retrieved 2016 08 30 . aubrey allison . place a bet on your weight loss goal and you may win twice . npr . national public radio . retrieved 26 august 2016 . johnson lisa 2010 04 30 . healthywage contest offers money for weight loss . aol that s fit . retrieved 2010 08 08 . jenkins m.d. christina 2010 05 14 . the biggest loser one physician s perspective . the huffington post . retrieved 2010 08 08 . cs1 maint multiple names authors list link rosenberg tina . for weight loss a recipe of teamwork and trust . the new york times . retrieved 30 august 2016 . cain lisa . we can lose the weight before the holidays together snack girl challenge . snack girl . lisa cain . retrieved 26 august 2016 . essany michael . healthywage says it will pay pok mon go players for walking while playing . mhealthwatch . retrieved 26 august 2016 . shellenbarger sue 2013 01 08 . office weight loss contests rise saboteurs and all . the wall street journal . retrieved 2013 02 12 . volpe kevin g md phd 2008 12 10 . financial based incentives for weight loss jama the journal of the american medical association . retrieved 2013 02 12 . hill erica 2013 01 04 . new trend in weight loss wager programs the today show . retrieved 2013 02 12 . wauters robin 2009 09 14 . tc50 healthywage pays you to get in better shape . techcrunch . retrieved 2010 07 30 . ciccone alicia 2010 02 16 . 3 sites for ... weight loss motivation . women s day . retrieved 2010 08 08 . fisher anne 2011 11 04 . want healthier employees try offering prizes . crain s new york business . retrieved 2011 11 30 . external links edit official sites edit healthywage the matchup the team challenge 10 % challenge bmi challenge jackpot challenge step challenge healthywage press healthywage blog retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title healthywage & oldid 738088617 categories internet companies of the united statescompanies based in new york cityhealth websitesinternet properties established in 2009hidden categories cs1 maint multiple names authors list navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 6 september 2016 at 21 01 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view