by Andrea Hill on November 30, 2009
Yes they are, according to Joseph Proietto, a professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne.
In the article “Treatments needed to tackle obesity crisis: Experts” that has been picked up by British and Indian news aggregators but apparently hasn’t yet been widely distributed state-side, Proietto claims that lifestyle changes can only achieve so much before the body adapts. Therefore, it is “absolutely essential” to develop drugs to help people keep the weight off, he is quoted as saying.
As an athlete, I know that unless I change up my training regimen now and then, my performance will plateau. Ole Albert Einstein said it well: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Some speculate that diets don’t work because they are temporary measures to reach a specific target, but aren’t necessarily designed for long-term impact. The notion that the body adapts is also a possibility: what initially helps us to lose weight will decrease in effectiveness as our body becomes used to the new intake and accommodates for it. As with physical activity: as we undergo physical conditioning, activities that used to tax our muscles become easier, and we see fewer results. We then need to increase the intensity or duration of an activity to continue to see gains.
What do you think? Is varying our diet and incorporating different types of physical activity enough? Or do we need a little help to stay healthy?
Tagged as:
behavior change,
diet,
drugs,
lifestyle,
obesity
by Larry Clark on August 4, 2009
by Larry Clark on July 24, 2009
Do Good
This awesome ipod/iphone app unites millions of users to do one random act of kindness a day.
The application is appropriately called “DoGood”. Each day the application displays the same “DoGood” to every user on a particular day. Once you’ve completed the DoGood, simply press done.
Social Media Integration
Facebook and Twitter integration allows you to easily tell your friends about each day’s DoGood. You can leave a story on each DoGood, or read the stories of others.
Tracking Social Change
DoGood collects statistics from the group anonymously, and presents them on a graphical dashboard allowing you to easily track each day’s activity. Moreover, you can view past DoGoods and their respective stories.
Join the movement:
http://mobil33t.com/dogood
Tagged as:
behavior change,
cause,
cause creative,
Digital Activism,
Facebook,
healthy people,
Healthy Places,
public health,
social marketing,
social media,
social networks,
twitter
by Andrea Hill on June 3, 2009
Today (June 3rd) is National Running Day! To celebrate, I went out for a 4 mile run this morning before work.
Those who know me may laugh; I am an ardent runner, so running before work isn’t really anything out of the ordinary. But because of the organized event, I made sure to do it today.
We all know that it is important to live an healthy, active lifestyle, but too often our daily obligations get in the way. Events like National Running Day, Bike to Work Week, and even the Wii 30 Day Fitness Challenge help give individuals a specific goal, as well as motivation and support, knowing there are others involved in the same activity.
So take some time today to celebrate National Running Day! Perhaps it will be another 364 days until you lace up those shoes again, but it’s a step in the right direction!
Tagged as:
behavior change,
physical activity
by Andrea Hill on June 1, 2009
On June 19th, Tonya Peters and I will be presenting at the Social Marketing in Public Health conference in Florida. We will be combining our areas of expertise (behavior change, social media) to discuss How Social Networking Sites Impact Behavior.
Abstract
Influence. Persuade. Convince. Countless words have been written about the art of deliberately and directly influencing people to change their behavior, but what are we overlooking that can help us get our job done? Social networks are not new to those seeking to mobilize resources and impact change but in an evolving era of online interaction, social networking sites also have significant implications for social marketers and how they can inadvertently impact the way people act.
Learner objectives
At the conclusion of this session, the learner will be able to:
- Describe how social networking sites serve as a tool for social marketers and can enhance social marketing campaigns.
- Understand how behaviors are influenced by social norms within a social networking site.
- Identify and leverage the right social networking site elements to help meet behavior change and programmatic objectives.
Significance and Implications for Social Marketing
Social networking by its very nature segments audiences into groups with similar preferences and interests. Social marketers can leverage these networks to position and promote their message, engage dialogue and model behavior change in both implicit and explicit means. Trust and reputation are strong influencers in an individual’s decision-making process and are key factors in reducing the perceived or real costs to a specific behavior. By participating in a social networking site, individuals may find themselves unwittingly modifying their behavior to both model and adhere to the societal norms established within their social circle.
We are limited to a half-hour time slot, which will obviously not be sufficient to share all our insights on this topic. We will continue to elaborate on this topic on this blog as time goes on.
Tagged as:
behavior change,
conference,
social marketing,
social media,
speaking
