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.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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450 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Sep 2013
- Finished
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Mar 2017
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 18 and older are being targeted. We aim to recruit equal numbers of men and women, but this is not a specific target. There are no racial or ethnic targets. * Individuals who pass a phone screening that includes physical (PAR-Q) and cognitive (MMSE) measures are eligible for this study. These individuals must either answer "no" to all the questions on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) or receive verbal permission from their doctor. Additionally, they must also show no signs of cognitive impairment as indicated by scores greater than or equal to 23 points on the 26-point Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Exclusion Criteria: * We will not recruit minors (17 or younger) because this is a study of adult development. * Individuals who answered "yes" on any questions of the PAR-Q and/or received a score less than or equal to 22 on the MMSE.
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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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