STEVE INSKEEP, host: And today's last word in business is forced fitness.
A new company in Boston aims to make you healthier by fining you if you don't work out. Gym-Pact works with local fitness centers, and when you sign up, you make a commitment to exercise a certain amount of time. And if you skip your workout, you get fined $10 a day.
The company's founders are a couple of Harvard grads who were inspired by a class in behavioral economics（行为经济学）. They learned that people are more motivated by immediate consequences, like losing 10 bucks. You would think that people already have a financial incentive to exercise if they have a health club membership. The money is wasted if they don't show up. But it turns out that when you pay up front, you've already lost that money, making it more likely that you will fall off the treadmill.
That's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And I'm Renee Montagne.
