Would a £400 cash reward help you lose weight?

The study included almost 600 men from across the UK

Would you be willing to lose ten per cent of your body weight to win a £400 reward?

The University of Stirling asked 585 overweight men to lose weight over 12 months, with a cash payout for some to see if it would help them achieve their goal.

The study - called Game of Stones - found the £400 incentive made a "significant difference" compared to men who were offered no cash reward.

The uni team worked with men facing socio-economic difficulty or mental or physical illness, who might not have access to traditional weight management services.

Stirling University professor of nursing, Pat Hoddinott, said the participants were randomly broken down into three groups.

One group would receive supportive text messages with the offer of a cash incentive at the end.

A second group would receive text messages only, while a third control group would receive no messages or cash reward.

Prof Hoddinott told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We designed this incentive structure where men were offered £400 at the start and told it was in a bank account for them.

"Then they had to lose 5% of their weight by 3 months, 10% by 6 months and then the challenging part, keep that 10% of weight off until a year and then the money was transferred to them."

In total 585 men took part from Bristol, Glasgow and Northern Ireland.

The group offered cash lost 5% of their weight, the supportive text group lost 3%, and the group with no messages lost just 1% of weight.

Participants were broken down into three groups, some receiving supportive text messages alongside the cash incentive

Nevil Chesterfield, 68, from Bristol took part in the study. “The financial incentive was important," he said.

"Partaking in a university study sounds worthy, and the fact that it is intended to inform future health policy gives seriousness, but the payments for hitting targets takes it to new heights, particularly with male friends.

"To them it becomes something more than some sort of diet.”

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), led by the University of Stirling in partnership with the University of New Brunswick, Canada, University of Aberdeen, University of Glasgow, Queens University Belfast and the University of Bristol.