Are You Going to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions?

With everyone hyped up about 2013, wanted to quickly visit a study from the University of Scranton on resolutions.  Here’s some quick math and my comments:

• Percent of Americans who usually make New Year’s Resolutions: 45% (This seems pretty low – maybe the other 55% already know they’re going to fail?
• Percent of people with resolutions who maintain them after 6 months: 46% (This seems absurdly high – this means 25% of Americans are still going to the gym or saving money after 6 months?  Either people are setting really attainable goals or there’s something fishy w/ this study)
• Health-related resolutions among the top 10 most popular: 3 (Lose Weight, Staying Fit and Healthy, Quit Smoking – no real surprises here)
• Success rates of people in their twenties vs. people in their fifties: 2x more resolutions attained (Interesting statistic – does this imply people in their twenties are better suited for change, have easier-to-achieve goals, or is it the opposite for people in their fifties?  Certainly says something about which group could be a better target audience for change messaging)

What Can Employers Do To Encourage Healthy Behavior?

While traditional wellness programs are firmly embedded in corporate culture, a couple articles reminded me there are still a lot of innovative ideas for supercharging health in the workplace:

1) The Wall Street Journal spotlighted the gamefication of wellness program from companies such as UHG, Humana, and Aetna.  As I’ve discussed in the past, the ability to quantify and track progress to a goal, while wrapping in social communities, can make fitness fun. 

However, I’m still not convinced these are good investments.  First, as the article states, the research on these games is thin.  While anecdotes suggest they are successful, we can’t say with certainty if they drive better behavior, especially for people who need it most and may not be participating.

What I find more challenging is the incentive structure.  While a lot of people participate to improve their health, others are drawn in by the giveaways and prizes.  Arguably, the bigger the incentive, the more people who will participate, which is how employers will generate the most savings.  But a bigger prize also means more people may try to game the system (most of these programs are self-reported) or be less than honest about their progress.  The article mentions some programs require special equipment (e.g., a pedometer), but that may dissuade employees, especially those on the fringes, from participating. 

I’d be interested to see a business case comparing the value of the prize to the number of people participating and their average health improvements.  I would be curious to see if there is some prize level that encourages so many people to participate that their benefits, no matter how small, outweigh the costs of others trying to outwit the system.

2) Another article via PSFK highlighted a meeting table withbicycle pedals attached, allowing employees to exercise and generate electricity.  Similar to the hotel concept I previously discussed, I love this idea for a few reasons.

First, it brings fitness into the everyday work environment, but is less awkward than some solutions (e.g., standing treadmill desks), and offers the benefits to a wider range of employees.  Second, it brings a little green energy into the office and encourages environmental conservation.  Finally, from a more practical standpoint, it can cut down on meeting times, which has its own benefits for employees.  In fact, I’ve heard of one other company that has been successful by having only standing tables in meeting rooms. 

Sure, there are some practical concerns to implementing these bikes (e.g., price, worker buy-in, hygiene), but I could see employees of all shapes and sizes using this for the novelty and health benefits.

What Does The Weather Teach Us About Improving Health?

It was a beautiful day in Chicago and running outside this afternoon reminded me how much weather can impact health. As I observed people walking around, it struck me that this phenomenon is probably motivated by a few things:

- After being cooped up indoors all winter, people are anxious to get outside and change their routine

- Nicer weather leads to shorts and t-shirts, meaning people need to look better as they start to shed the bulky coats

- Sun provides vitamins that folks have been deprived of during the cold winter

Obviously the combination of these factors creates a perfect storm to motivate people to run or bike outside, but there may be lessons health companies can take from this. For example, gyms could have special events that change up routines, encourage people to try a new type of exercise, and even tap into that summer anticipation to reinvigorate folks. Similarly, health insurers could host exercise or social events to get people moving during the winter by encouraging them to prepare for the event by taking steps to look good around others. Finally, providing support for Seasonal Affective Disorder (e.g., having sun light therapy at gyms) could be a differentiator and contribute to improved mental health.

How Can Fantasy Football Create Healthier Lifestyles?

A friend recently told me about a Biggest Loser-type challenge that he started with his family. They were inspired by his father, who recently had heart issues, and saw this as a way to collectively support his new health routine. Although it was spawned by an unfavorable situation, this is a great example of how group challenges can be used to change behavior:

1) Rallying Cause: Experiencing a powerful event or situation can provide the catalyst to start and maintain a healthier routine. In addition to triggering the new behavior, this story can help publicize the cause and reinforce the goal, similar to people who shave their head in solidarity with a cancer-stricken family member. Unfortunately, the majority of these triggers are negative events – are there positive motivators that can create the same sense of urgency?

2) Competition: Adding competitive elements keeps people motivated to stay on course and outperform. As much as I hate recent gamefacation trends, these social motivators can be valuable as long as the goals remain realistic and no one person gets too far ahead or behind to be a disincentive

3) Measurement: Like the Biggest Loser, my friend’s challenge is measured using weight loss. Having an easily quantifiable goal gives each of the participants a simple way to gauge their progress

The bigger question is how to scale these types of challenges up. The most successful model could be to align people with similar goals into small group challenges. A fantasy football model could work – a person can join a private or public challenge that is moderated by an individual, who puts various rules and tracking metrics in place. Tracking could be done by the individual or integrated with other existing apps (e.g., Nike+, Runkeeper) based on the challenge, and could include a reward system (e.g., Nexercise app). The best example of this model currently in development is Keas, a social health and wellness network, which is a little broader and primarily aligned with employers and employees.

Do We Need More Dedicated Health Devices?

A lot has been made of product convergence with smartphones becoming more powerful and ubiquitous. Cramming more features into a single device allows the user to do more without sacrificing comfort or accessibility. However, it's a very passive experience and, for all the badges and alerts a program may provide, the user still needs to be motivated to visit the app or access the features. This becomes even more difficult as more information gets packed on these devices.

That's why the Jawbone Up catches my attention. Despite the bad reviews, we may be reaching a tipping point where people revisit the value of dedicated devices. Up could be successful because, by decoupling the device from the phone (since smartphones arguably have the same features), it's a constant reminder that you're being monitored, and may motivate someone to make better health decisions (e.g., walk more, sleep at the appropriate times). Similar to a Prius, Jawbone may also be banking on the social signal component - wearing this demonstrates how much you care about your health.

With that being said, there are some adoption challenges. Right now, this will only appeal to the health conscious who arguably benefit less. However, if the type of technology becomes cheap enough, I could also see widespread use by insurance companies to motivate and monitor, similar to the Progressive Insurance Snapshot program. There are clearly privacy and social issues, so we'll have to see how successful their program is.

However, the idea of dedicated devices has always interested me. For example, instead of being cluttered with other smartphone apps, could insurance companies distribute a flexible e-ink card that explains benefits and provides tips for healthy behavior?