The Healthy Nudge

October 2024

Welcome to The Healthy Nudge. Each month, we'll get you up to speed on the latest developments in policy-relevant health behavioral economics research at CHIBE. See our 5 top stories below.

1) CHIBE unveils 2023-2024 Annual Report

Take a look at CHIBE's newest annual report showcasing our faculty and staff's achievements and research findings. Find the report here.

2) How diet affects the brain over a lifetime

An American Heart Association story featuring CHIBE Director Dr. Kevin Volpp

Even short-term consumption of an unhealthy diet high in saturated fats and sugar can trigger brain inflammation and potentially harm cognition, studies show. While it's unclear how neuroinflammatory processes affect the hippocampus – the part of the brain that controls memory and cognition – numerous studies have found links between eating a high-fat diet, neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment.

"It's important for patients to recognize that any single indulgence may not seem to matter – and probably doesn't – but over time, their choices will influence their long-term health," Dr. Volpp said. "And we need to be aware of that in terms of the patterns we put in place." Read the article here.

3) Q&A with CHIBE Roybal Retreat keynote speaker: Dr. Ingrid Nembhard

A CHIBE blog post featuring Dr. Ingrid Nembhard

CHIBE spoke with the 2024 Roybal Retreat keynote speaker Dr. Ingrid Nembhard, Fishman Family President’s Distinguished Professor, Professor of Health Care Management, and Professor of Management (Organizational Behavior) at Wharton, ahead of the Roybal Retreat in Hershey, PA, on October 14-15. Dr. Nembhard will be speaking about “Moving from Innovation to Improvement” in her keynote. Hear about her thoughts on the role of psychological safety in organizations and more. Read more here.

4) CHIBE Check-In: A Q&A with Dr. George Loewenstein

A CHIBE blog post with affiliate Dr. George Loewenstein

CHIBE spoke with Dr. George Loewenstein about what he’s been working on recently, what impact he’s seen from his i-frame and s-frame paper that garnered a lot of attention two years ago, and his thoughts on being the face of behavioral economics on Reddit. He also shares a story of how someone approached him after a talk and "told me that my presentation made him question the research he had been doing for decades, and made him more depressed than he had ever been in his life." Read more here.

5) BE ACTIVE paper wins James T. Willerson Award in clinical science

A blog post on a CHIBE team paper

Congratulations to Penn’s BE ACTIVE research team, which won the 2024 James T. Willerson Award in Clinical Science from Circulation for their paper on the “Effect of Gamification, Financial Incentives, or Both to Increase Physical Activity Among Patients at High Risk of Cardiovascular Events: The BE ACTIVE Randomized Controlled Trial.” The award recognizes the best clinical paper published in Circulation in the last 12 months. Read more here.