Residents of Wolverhampton are to benefit from a new app designed to improve health by offering financial incentives. 

In a pilot scheme that will launch in early 2022 and run for six months, participants will be given wrist-worn devices and access to an app that generates personalised health recommendations, such as increasing their step count or eating more fruit and veg. Users will collect points for healthy behaviours, which they can cash in for rewards such as discounts for cinema and theme park tickets, clothes and food vouchers.

The scheme is part of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' drive to use digital technology to improve public health.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said: "This pilot is an exciting opportunity to see how we can empower people to make healthy changes to their lifestyle. I want to make it easier for people to make healthy choices."

Wolverhampton was chosen for the pilot due to its large population size, and the fact that a third of its residents are classed as being physically inactive and a below average number eat their five-a-day.