A new study of results from Shape Up RI shows the statewide weight-loss and fitness competition succeeded at helping people shed pounds at a minimal cost, offering a model that could be replicated elsewhere.

The study, published in the journal Obesity, was conducted by Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital.

Wing analyzed data from the 2007 Shape Up competition, which was conceived by then-medical student Rajiv Kumar, a co-author of the study. Of 4,717 people who participated, 3,311 or 70.2 percent completed at least 12 weeks of the program. The cost per person was only $15, and employers paid the fee for 62 percent of participants.