Going Mobile to Prevent and Manage Obesity

A recent review of mobile eHealth interventions for obesity ends with:

In their 2000 systematic review of mobile eHealth intervention studies, Revere and Dunbar concluded that “future studies need to identify which [eHealth intervention] models are best suited to which health behavior, whether certain delivery devices are more appropriate for different health behaviors, and how care can benefit from patients’ use of portable devices”. We conclude that the appropriate model for obesity and weight management is the tailored informational intervention modified according to design principles suggested by Social Cognitive Theory and the Social Marketing Model. The health behaviors to target are self-monitoring of diet and physical activity. The devices are Web-enabled “smart” cellular telephones and wireless PDAs. Given the lack of effectiveness of other interventions to prevent or treat obesity in a sustainable matter, trials of these persuasive, ubiquitous technologies are required without delay.  Jounal of Medical Internet Research - Mobile eHealth Interventions for Obesity: A Timely Opportunity to Leverage Convergence Trends.

For researchers and graduate students, social entrepreneurs and program designers, the mobile eHealth strategy may be a fruitful one to pursue both for research on how social marketing adds value to the use of these technologies and AS PART OF a comprehensive (see the 4Ps) obesity prevention program.

Technorati Tags: eHealth, health communications, obesity, social marketing