The science is overwhelming: regular exercise and a
healthy, calorie-conscious diet are the keys to better health. But
despite what we know about healthy living, Canadians face an obesity
epidemic. Nearly one quarter of all adult Canadians are obese and one in
10 children could be similarly labelled. A little over four per cent of
the Canadian health-care budget goes to treating the fallout of
obesity, which includes conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high
blood pressure, stroke and osteoarthritis.
In addition to lessening the risk of obesity, the benefits
of a healthy lifestyle are manyfold and include improved mental
well-being, longer and more productive lives, and a reduced risk of
cancer. So although the science is clear, the challenge is to translate
this knowledge into reality. Many Canadians have trouble committing to
serious lifestyle change.
There are many reasons why people fail to meet their
lifestyle goals, including low motivation, time- management challenges,
busy competing schedules, and lack of coaching or mentorship. Could the
Internet and mobile/smartphone technology help address this conundrum?
The health-care world has been transformed in the last several years
— smartphone apps, social media, and the Internet may be able to empower
both patients and care providers to make healthy changes. Albertans in
Calgary and Edmonton can already consult a mobile app and website that
provides real-time information on wait times in local emergency
departments. Where can some of these technologies have their greatest
impact on our health and that of all Canadians?
The Internet, texting and mobile apps have an
ever-increasing presence in global health care. Nearly 80 per cent of
the population of developed countries have access to the Internet.
Nearly a third of all the people on the planet have access to mobile
broadband, a five-fold increase over 2008. In the U.S., 72 per cent of
adults use the Internet to look for health information and 32 per
cent turn to their smartphones.
Known collectively as eHealth, the explosion in health
related resources and technologies provide a wide range of opportunities
ranging from health coaching, sugar and blood pressure monitoring, and
helping patients with a range of chronic diseases look after their
condition.
One of the best studied uses of eHealth is in the area of
weight loss. In the May issue of Obesity Reviews, researchers from New
South Wales in Australia look through the world literature to determine
if eHealth can tackle the weighty problem of obesity. They analyzed 84
studies, all randomized trials creating an experimental context where
some patients get eHealth and some get regular weight-loss measures.
Some of the studies aimed primarily to achieve weight-loss targets,
others sought to maintain weight loss, and the final bunch were
specifically focused on preventing weight gain.
Most of the eHealth interventions involved some kind of
Internet-based technology to help obese individuals set and achieve
weight-loss targets; 40 per cent used more than one approach and
integrated other technologies like texting or smartphone mobile apps.
For the goal of achieving weight loss, the results were impressive.
Those using eHealth technologies had a 2.7 kilogram greater weight loss
over similar groups trying to lose weight without the benefit of these
tools. Most of the benefit came with combination approaches,
including a weight-loss website coupled with an app or texting service.
Unfortunately, the data and findings are much more limited when it comes
to keeping the weight off or preventing weight gain; there is simply
not enough research yet.
Fifty years ago physicians held their stethoscopes and
marvelled at how they could ever have practised medicine without the
ability to hear lung and heart sounds. In 2015 and going forward, the
same could well be true for eHealth.
Need some help getting into shape and shedding some extra
baggage? It’s a tough road but please consider leaning on one or more
of your screens to get you to where you need to be.
We are FOSSASIA
Source : calgaryherald
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