Abstract
Obesity impacts approximately 33% of all Americans and poses a significant public health concern. Contingency management has been used in various behavioral health interventions with considerable success. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a deposit contract consisting of self-monitoring, goal-setting, and feedback, at increasing physical activity in healthy adults. Four college students wore accelerometers for the duration of the study and deposited personal funds, which could be earned back upon meeting weekly physical activity goals. Goals consisted of accumulating a negotiated number of moderate to vigorous physical activity minutes 3-4 days per week. Number of active minutes were gradually increased using a changing criterion design. Results demonstrated that duration and frequency of moderate to vigorous physical activity performed increased for all participants. However, maintenance data indicated that exercise behaviors did not maintain after the intervention was removed.