Wednesday, June 17, 2009

E-Mailing Your Way to Healthier Habits

“E-mail messages suggesting small ways to eat more healthfully or boost physical activity can significantly improve health habits, a new study has found. Participants in a worksite e-mail program walked more, ate more fruits and vegetables and consumed less saturated fats and trans fats than workers who didn't receive the e-mails, according to a report in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. People whose dietary habits and physical activity levels were below recommended levels at the start of the study realized the greatest improvements, the researchers reported. ‘What this study really tells us is that this particular program is effective,’ said the lead investigator, Barbara Sternfeld, a senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente research division in Oakland, Calif. ‘It gets the behavior change that we're looking for.’ What's more, the program appeared to have a lasting effect. ‘Our data show, at least four months later, the behaviors were still sticking,’ Sternfeld noted.”

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/627207.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_lifestyle

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