Weight Loss Wagering

When I began working on this piece, I was trying to remember when I first learned about the idea of betting on weight loss and what my reactions to the concept were back then. As far as I can recall, I think it was around 2009 or 2010, and I believe I was intrigued, as this was at a point in my career when my work was centered around instigating weight loss (or its close cousin, improved body composition) and the assumption that of course such pursuits lead to better health. So, if wagers could be a useful tool in my proverbial toolbox, I wanted to know about it.

While the idea of wagering on weight loss continued to exist, it never really took off or hit the mainstream either, at least as far as I could tell, but it caught my attention again early last month when I noticed that HealthyWage [Note: They seem to use HealthyWage and HealthyWager interchangeably on their website.] was running ads during the US Open tennis tournament. My reaction now, 14 or 15 years later, was quite different than when I first heard about betting on weight loss.

Using weight as a proxy for health – which a younger me left unquestioned and unchallenged for way too long – is problematic in itself, but we have already covered that elsewhere, so I am going to put that aside, as many other topics are going through my mind: Does the prospect of winning or losing money in the short term actually induce long-term behavior change? How do outcomes differ when someone wagers against themselves as opposed to engaging in a weight loss competition against a friend or others?  Addressing these and other questions that I have in mind would be too lengthy for a single blog, but perhaps I will circle back to them one day.

Meanwhile, I want to take a narrower focus and examine a few of the company’s claims and pieces of information that most stood out to me when I spent some time exploring HealthyWage’s website.

Clicking the “Get Started” button on the homepage brought me to a calculator where I could change my prize range by manipulating how many pounds I want to lose, how much money I want to bet each month, and how long I need to reach my weight loss goal. Regarding length, I noticed that the more time I asked for, the higher my prize range, which runs counter to the old adage that trying to lose weight slowly and steadily is more likely to be successful than rapid weight loss, advice that I used to echo early in my career and that some doctors still repeat to their patients. In reality though, this advice is nonsense, as weight loss endeavors will likely fail in the long run no matter how they are pursued. While we can be relatively successful inducing short-term weight loss, the weight almost always comes back in the end. HealthyWage’s algorithm suggests that they understand that long-term weight loss is less likely, as evidenced by their willingness to fork over more money to the people who achieve it and less money to those who quickly lose the same number of pounds.

Going back to the homepage and scrolling just below the “Get Started” button yielded testimonials from three “Success Stories,” including names and locations of three individuals who won between $1,463 and $3,007 via losing 101 to 160 pounds in contests that ranged from nine to 18 months. In addition to their statistics, these profiles also feature before and after photos as well as quotes from the individuals. You know who else posts success stories? The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, for one, whose website lists hundreds of winners per day across the state. According to a study by Bloomberg, state lotteries “have the worst odds of any form of legal gambling” in the country. To put things in perspective, one is reportedly four times more likely to get hit by an asteroid than they are to win Powerball. Testimonials – whether they are lottery winners posing with oversized checks, Weight Watchers leaders touting their own journeys in front of their groups, or HealthyWage winners – sure are enticing by inducing fantasies of what is possible, but possible and likely are vastly different adjectives.

One question on the HealthyWage FAQ page asks, “Is HealthyWage legal?” to which the company responds, “Yes. Although we use the word ‘bet’ to explain the concept, HealthyWager isn’t gambling in the legal sense because you are in control of the outcome at all times. It’s up to you to lose the weight.” Okay, first of all, suggesting that weight loss is entirely in one’s control is incorrect, reckless, and contributes to stigma. Joanne and I have both had patients who were still fat despite struggling with very restrictive and dangerous eating disorders, and I take issue with the false narrative that someone is whatever size they are solely because of their behaviors. Furthermore, the “at all times” phrase flies in the face of solid evidence showing that weight regain is the norm, not the exception.

HealthyWage can call their service whatever they want, but the fact remains that it is a gambling operation similar to state lotteries, casinos, or any other for-profit entity that invites customers in with splashy hooks and enticing testimonials. When we put our fantasies of victory aside and get back to reality, we remember the basic truth of this industry: The house always wins.