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Wearable tech takes aim at health care costs

– ‘Gamification’ –

As a further incentive, Target said it would allow teams of employees which log the most average daily steps to collect more than $1 million for local non-profit organizations.

This strategy of providing financial incentives for healthy activity is known in the industry as “gamification.”

Jimmy Fleming of the consulting group Healthy Wage said financial incentives can make a difference in spurring healthier behaviors.

“We have a lot of clients who want to subsidize the program and make it free, but it’s less effective,” Fleming said. “There has to be both a carrot and a stick.”

One program being offered through health services firm Vitality Group provides an Apple Watch for $25, a fraction of the retail cost. But employees must “pay” for the device by completing workouts and gym visits each month.

Growth in such programs over the past few years coincides with incentives to meet Obamacare goals on preventive care, and with new research suggesting that more activity can ward off many medical ailments.

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