Do Weight Loss Betting Apps Like DietBet Really Work?

These days, it seems like there’s an app for everything, including weight loss. Apps like DietBet challenge users to see who, from a pool of two or more people, can lose the most weight, with money being a partial motivator. Lots of people seem to feel like betting on themselves has helped them to finally be successful. But does it work?

DietBet and other, similar, weight loss apps can help with motivation to lose excess weight — or so they claim. But do they really help us meet our goals, and are they necessary, to begin with? Let's look at how they work and the results between app users vs. those who lose weight on their own.

How Apps Like DietBet Work

DietBet and similar apps, such as HealthyWage, offer individuals the chance to win money if they meet their goal of a projected weight loss.

For DietBet, individuals bet in a game against one another over who will lose the most weight. They are given a set amount of time, usually 28 days, and in that time they need to lose 4% of their current body weight. Through weigh-ins and progress pictures, individuals can offer proof of their weight loss efforts which helps to keep the game fair while holding the participants accountable.

In a similar vein, HealthyWage allows users to place an individual bet on their weight loss. This particular app allows individuals to compete in more than one game at once (up to 10 for those feeling ambitious). But, as with DietBet, there are still check-ins and ways to hold users accountable for their actions.

With both of these apps, individuals have the chance to win money depending on how much they’ve lost and how much they bet.

But Do These Apps Produce Greater Results?

Although money might seem like a key motivator for weight loss, it isn’t as much as one would expect. One common problem with betting apps is that they can mislead people into thinking they can lose weight while using their phone instead of getting outdoors for physical activity. Weight loss doesn’t just magically happen. In order to achieve goals that are focused, real effort in both dieting and working out needs to take place.

The same can be said of activity trackers, too. While these don’t involve making bets on weight loss and instead focus on the level of activity, just wearing a tracker isn’t enough to spark weight loss or to automatically remind a person to get in their activity. Users need to make a conscious effort to make changes on their own, using the app or tracker as a supplement.

But they do appear to offer results. According to HealthyWage, 77% of their users lose weight. And DierBet claims 96% of their users lose weight. Moreover, according to one study, betting dieters lost a significant amount more than non-wagerers. The incentive of money really motivated individuals to go further, faster. The researchers recommend another long-term study to compare results as this one was only 16 weeks and the results were impressive among the incentivized participants.

So maybe there's something to these ideas after all. Does anyone want to bet with me?

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