People who were given incentives to exercise more for a year – including daily feedback and cash rewards – added 1,500 steps (about three-fourths of a mile) to their daily step counts, according to research published in the journal Circulation. They also added about 40 minutes of moderate exercise to their activity routine each week.

The study involved 1,062 participants, age 67 on average, with a higher-than-average risk for cardiovascular disease who were being encouraged to become more active. Before the study, they all averaged about 5,000 steps (2.4 miles) a day.