If you’re spending too much time on your smartphone, why not use it to improve your arterial health? In an attempt to leverage technology to help people stay healthy, researchers used a smartphone application or ‘app’ to record the users’ food intake and number of steps taken every day. Users also entered into the app activities they engaged in without the smartphone, such as swimming. The trial included 833 adults without heart disease aged 70 years or under from primary care centres in Spain. The objective was to get participants to consume a Mediterranean diet and engage in physical activity equal to at least 10,000 steps a day. While all the participants received counselling on diet and physical activity, one group also used the ‘healthy lifestyle app’. At the end of each day, the app reported a summary of food intake and physical activity, the number of calories consumed and expended, and a recommended plan to improve eating habits and increase physical activity. After three months, participants who used the app had improved their physical activity level. And while both groups improved their adherence to a Mediterranean diet, the diet composition of the app group was even healthier.

Photo: iStock
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
August 2018