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Promoting physical activity among seniors in Abu Dhabi: an experimental test of the “forever fit” nudge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2025

Nikos Nikiforakis*
Affiliation:
Division of Social Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, United Arab Emirates
Layla Abdulaziz Alhyas
Affiliation:
Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, United Arab Emirates
Uzma Afzal
Affiliation:
Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, United Arab Emirates Department of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
Alex Agiostratitis
Affiliation:
Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, United Arab Emirates
Elyazyeh M Alfalacy
Affiliation:
Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, United Arab Emirates
Aurelie Dariel
Affiliation:
Division of Social Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, United Arab Emirates
Melissa C Monney
Affiliation:
Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, United Arab Emirates
Manuel Muñoz-Herrera
Affiliation:
Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, United Arab Emirates Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Ernesto Reuben
Affiliation:
Division of Social Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, United Arab Emirates Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
*
Corresponding author: Nikos Nikiforakis; Email: nn30@nyu.edu
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Abstract

Physical inactivity is a leading cause globally of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. Here, we present the results from a 4-week-long experimental test of a nudge designed to promote physical activity among 206 seniors in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates—a population with one of the highest rates of physical inactivity in the world. We find that the “Forever Fit” nudge—a booklet containing a simple exercise program and information about the health benefits of physical activity—has a large positive effect on 93 previously inactive seniors. The nudge increases the time previously inactive participants spend being physically active from about 5 to about 15 minutes per day.

Information

Type
Original Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NC
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic Science Association.
Figure 0

Figure 1. Excerpts from the forever fit booklet. (a) The booklet’s cover (b) The three activity streams (c) Examples of exercises

Figure 1

Figure 2. Distribution of baseline levels of moderate physical activity among senior adults

Figure 2

Table 1. Impact of the forever fit program on daily moderate physical activity for initially inactive and active senior adults

Figure 3

Table 2. Impact of the forever fit program on daily moderate physical activity for initially inactive senior adults depending on various demographic categories

Figure 4

Figure 3. Impact of the FFP on daily MPA over time for inactive senior adults (in minutes)

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