Using financial incentives to achieve healthy behaviour

Is there any evidence for the impact of positive individual financial incentives for modifying health behaviours? There is indeed, and although they seem to have a positive impact on discrete, infrequent behaviours, the evidence is far from impressive in terms of sustained behaviour. Marteau, Ashcroft and Oliver reviewed last year the available evidence in a paper in the British Medical Journal, which also examined the basis for moral and other concerns about their use. Full details are available here.