Texting Helps With Dieting – New Study
Melissa Napolitano, lead researcher of the Center for Obesity, says that smart phones and texting has been a positive innovation for helping young adults and teens for loosing weight and healthy dieting. Her findings claim that students who use cell phones to monitor physical activity and calories showed the best results with the battle to lose weight. Students that got personal feedback from their phones lost more weight than those who didn't use their phones for feedback. She recruited 52 college student, most of them females with an average weight of 190 lbs. She then assigned them to three different groups. Group one was assigned to a private Facebook page where they got advice and online support. They were given other information on nutrition and exercise. The second group was assigned to online sites that gave them the same advice and support, however they also got text messages reminding them to send in their calorie intake and physical exercise information. Group three was only assigned to sites where they entered in their goals and got the same dietary information as the the other groups, but they were put on a waiting list with no extra help. Below are the results.
Gary Foster, a director at a prominent obesity research center, says that dieters claim they need to be held accountable and the constant text messages had replicated a face to face contact with personalized feedback. What this latest study found was amazing. Group one with the support of Facebook lost an average of 1.4 lbs. Group three lost only an average of a half pound, where as group two, the group with texting support averaged losing over 5 lbs.! It is obvious that text support has the same similarities of interaction with a supportive health professional. They got personalized tips, received encouraging supportive messages, and were made to be interactive with their daily intake and goals. Besides just texting, smart phones also had the applications that could measure how much activity the dieter achieved. It worked as a pedometer and counted how many miles were walked and how many calories were burned off. Another thing to note is that the smart phones were able to quickly look up how many calories, fats, and other nutritional values of the foods they ate. Smart phones today have a plethora of advantages when it comes to diets and health information. They have proved to be a great tool for dietary support as well.
51.) Diabetes - Information About Insulin Pens
Insulin pens are very popular in developed countries accept in the United States, although they are becoming more recognized as a viable option. Ninety percent of diabetics worldwide use these insulin pens, but only 20 percent of Americans use them. There are a couple of theories why America lags behind in using them. For one, the biggest manufacturer of insulin pens dominates the European market. Another reason is that insulin pump therapy for the patients with type one diabetes in America is much more prevalent, therefore the biggest manufacturer of these pens do not have the same loyalty from users in the U.S. Finally, insurance companies in America are the main decider of what type of treatments patients will be receiving.
There are two types of insulin pens. Ones that are disposable after every use, and the others having a pre filled cartridge that is replaced after every use. Some of the pens will have a dial that is turned to determine the dosage, or it can be purchased separately. The dials usually work in conjunction with the disposable needles. The advantages that patients have is they are discreet, more accurate, and are very easy to handle. As well, the needles do not have to be injected in a vial, therefore the needle does not dull which makes for a smoother injection. The only disadvantage is that the insulin cannot be mix with other insulin. Insulin pens are a bit more expensive than the traditional needle to vial method which could be another reason why the pens have not made such a big presence in America.
According to the American Diabetic Association, over 8 percent of the population has diabetes. Most of the diagnosed are in between ages 20 and 60 with almost 12 percent of them being of Hispanic descent. Although there are several types, there are two types of diabetes commonly attended, type 1 and type 2. Out of all diabetics, over 90 percent have type two diabetes, which is considered adult onset, or a non insulin type. A lot of studies have shown that type two diabetes usually strikes patients that are over weight and live unhealthy lifestyles. Therapy for this type includes a dietary change as well as physical activity. Over weight individuals are at a much higher risk of being struck with the disease. Type two is extremely manageable as well as preventable, however many still have to be injected with doses of insulin because their pancreases have been damaged to the point that it can no longer produce its own. Today, there are many campaigns to educate the public about how lifestyle and diabetes are connected and can be prevented.
