The city has been selected to exclusively pilot the Better Health: Rewards scheme, designed to test whether offering rewards and incentives can help people to eat better and increase their physical activity levels.
To get started, people aged 18 and over simply need to download the free Better Health: Rewards app, available from the AppStore or Google Play, which they will then sync to their fitness tracker. If they haven't got a tracker, they can claim one for free which will be delivered to their door.
The app will generate personalised health goals for every participant – such as increasing their step count or eating more fruit and vegetables, with people able to earn points for completing these challenges which they can swap for rewards.
Councillor Beverley Momenabadi, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "We're incentivising residents over the age of 18 who live in Wolverhampton to make better, healthier life choices, in return for rewards such as vouchers for supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Aldi, gym passes and family days out.
“In the cost-of-living crisis, one of the first things that people are forced to cut back on are spending money on things like their gym membership and on healthy food – because it's often cheaper to buy a bag of chips than it is to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
"This free programme is all about creating the right environment to support residents to eat healthier and move more.
"You can download the app today if you search for Better Health: Rewards in your app store. You'll fill in a few short surveys and, if you need a fitness tracker, you can request one that you will get a few days later in the post. It's free and, even better, it's yours to keep!
"You just need to link your tracker to the app and you'll soon be able to start earning rewards for making those better, healthier life choices. The tasks and challenges might be things like increasing your step count, or swapping unhealthy foods for healthier options.
"Thousands of people have already signed up, and if you haven't done so yet, please do so today because it's a win win for everyone; you will be supported to eat better and be more physically active, you’ll get a fitness tracker if you need one and you will be able to earn at least £40 worth of rewards.
"We also know that the NHS is under great strain at the moment and initiatives such as this can only be good for our health service, too."
John Denley, Wolverhampton's Director of Public Health, added: "This pilot is a piece of real life research which will help us to see whether incentivisation, combined with a digital intervention, can help people improve their physical health, help prevent illnesses before they develop, and help to ease pressure on the NHS.
"It's brilliant that so many adults in Wolverhampton are already taking part, and I would encourage everyone to download the app, order their free fitness tracker if they need one, and start earning exciting rewards by taking small steps to improve their health and wellbeing."
