Personalized cash rewards to help adults lose weight
Official title: Applying reinforcement learning to create a precision medicine weight loss intervention
Funded at Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah · NIH-11377457 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses smart computer algorithms to send personalized small cash rewards to adults to help them keep healthy habits and lose weight.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project start | March 15, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $226,861 |
| NIH project number | 5R34HL170205-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11377457 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older with overweight or obesity who are willing to use a diet-logging app and accept small monetary incentives are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who cannot or will not use a smartphone app, refuse incentive payments, or who need medical or surgical weight-loss care may not get benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
You would use a smartphone app to log food and weight while the program tracks how you respond to small cash rewards. A machine-learning method called reinforcement learning would learn which timing and amount of incentives work best for you and adjust rewards over time. The team builds the approach from past incentive trials and digital logging data to predict when rewards will boost adherence. The goal is to help more people reach clinically meaningful weight loss (about 5%).
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help more people reach meaningful weight loss by directing limited incentive funds to those who respond best.
How similar studies have gone: Previous behavioral weight-loss programs and small-incentive trials have helped some people lose weight, but applying reinforcement learning to personalize incentives is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
Salt Lake City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Voils, Corrine Ione — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Voils, Corrine Ione
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.