This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Internet, mobile devices can improve healthy lifestyle choices
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
According to a systematic review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, people who are prompted by cellphones and other devices are more likely to adopt positive lifestyle choices.
The researchers analyzed literature on internet and mobile interventions, personal sensors and stand-alone computer software related to healthy diet, weight loss, physical activity, and reduced tobacco and alcohol consumption.
The analysis of 224 studies evaluating the effect of the interventions showed that they were associated with positive results for participants.
“Programs that have components such as goal-setting and self-monitoring and use multiple modes of communication with tailored messages tended to be more effective. We also found these programs were more effective if they included some interactions with health care providers,” Ashkan Afshin, MD, MPH, ScD, acting assistant professor of global health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a press release. “Clinicians, in particular in primary care settings, can use such programs to help people improve their lifestyle behaviors and reduce the risk of chronic disease, such as [CVD] and diabetes.”
Participants using internet interventions improved their diet, were more physically active, lost weight or body fat, reduced the use of tobacco products and cut back on excessive alcohol intake, whereas participants in mobile device interventions increased physical activity and lost weight and body fat, according to the researchers.
According to Afshin and colleagues, although internet interventions are linked to improved lifestyle choices, there are still several research gaps. Most studies included in the research lasted less than 6 months, making the sustainability of long-term behavioral changes unclear.
“Our study highlights several important gaps in current evidence on internet- and mobile-based interventions. We need to evaluate their long-term value, effectiveness in different populations (such as the elderly and people from developing countries) and how different strategies may increase adherence to the programs,” Afshin said in the release. – by Dave Quaile
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts