Long green

There are plenty of get-well/be-well programs out there, geared at getting “healthcare consumers” to take charge of their own health. You know, be active, stop smoking, eat something besides double-cheese sausage pizzas and French fries. That sort of thing.

Most of the ones in the US are sponsored by health insurers, who hope to keep down the amount of money they fork out in claims by keeping obesity-related ailments down in their member populace. Also, employers trying to keep down the cost of health insurance and keep up employee productivity without having to pay, you know, “market” salaries. They provide incentives like lower deductibles or employee premium costs for employees who stop smoking, join gyms or sign up for Weight Watchers.

Here’s a study out of South Africa that seems to be telling us that giving consumers a more direct incentive could encourage them to eat more healthily. That is, giving them actual cash-back incentives for buying fruit, veg and low-fat dairy does indeed change their consumption habits.

Well—at least, it changes their buying habits. Dunno what they do with the stuff after they get it home.

The higher the cash back, the more people spend on the good stuff: if the rebate is 10%, people increased their spending 6%, as opposed to people offered a 25% rebate; they splashed out 9.3% more.

And; a similar study is being embarked on in the US, although the rebate being trialed is a trivial 5%, and the venue is Wal-Mart, an emporium not known for its health-conscious customers. It’ll be interesting if there’s any change in shoppers’ habits.

Anyhow—there’s not enough money in the world to get me to buy Brussels sprouts, let alone eat them.