Smartphone Technology Can Be An Effective Way To Make Weight Loss Strategies Work

Starting – and failing at – dieting is a familiar experience for the seven of ten Americans who are overweight or obese. Now a U.S. researcher reports that information technology generally, and smartphones and their treasure trove of apps in particular, are helping to improve that situation. The weight loss strategies embraced by the apps have been around a long time. But the apps repackage the good advice and put helpful tools like exercise logs and nutritional databases at dieters’ fingertips. Self-monitoring is the key to  weight loss, according to Cheryl Shigaki, and that is much easier to do with hand-held information technology. Feedback on weight loss progress is an effective motivator that also permits better evaluation of health behaviors.