Stanford pays people to walk – see what happened
NCT ID NCT03037658
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This Stanford study tested whether offering money for extra steps encourages people to walk more. 450 adults wore pedometers for a baseline week, then earned 2 cents per extra step for a week, followed by a final week without incentives. The goal was to see how different age groups respond to rewards.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- financial incentive
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show how to design effective incentive programs to increase physical activity across age groups.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study focused on short-term behavior change. Results may not apply to long-term habits or broader populations.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Life-span Development Lab
Stanford, California, 94305, United States
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