New technologies for promoting a healthy diet and active living

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer innovative formats for promoting healthy lifestyles and reinforcing public health initiatives. They can be applied to large population segments without losing the functionality of being tailored to individual fluctuating needs. Advantages of ICT include real-time provision and adaptation of nutrition and health recommendations based on an individual's particular situation, the potential to combine assessment procedures with healthy lifestyle support and the ability to unify psychosocial and cultural dimensions to enhance adherence. Two pilot programs are presented that show the potential for applying ICT to the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity habits.

ICT and the future of health care: aspects of health promotion

“…• Scenario 5 -Activities: "Target-group specific tourist and recreational activities for consumers with similar socioeconomic and medical conditions are a common information and communication technology-based health promotion effort." [11,29]. • Scenario 6 -Prevention: "Web-based communication tools assist handicapped or elderly people by providing educative information for primary and secondary health prevention."…”

“…• Scenario 6 -Prevention: "Web-based communication tools assist handicapped or elderly people by providing educative information for primary and secondary health prevention." [11,30].…”

“…As a first step, ICT-based assistance in everyday life provides the key to consumer's independency and self care [9]. Further, as suggested by Guillen et al [11], personalization, mobility, and adaptation of ICT applications could enhance the success of national health promotion and disease prevention programs. To maximize respective Public Health efforts, design and usability of web-based health portals are constantly improved nowadays [12].…”

Hidratos de carbono y práctica deportiva: una etnografía virtual en Twitter

“…En este sentido, ya ha sido descrito con anterioridad el uso de esta red social para diseminar aspectos negativos de las convulsiones epilépticas, las cuales habían estado históricamente sujetas al estigma social (40). Nuestros resultados coinciden con estudios previos que evidencian la capacidad de Internet como herramienta con potencial para promover que la población cambie su estilo de vida (41 fóbicas, al igual que en el caso de la anorexia, conceptualizan estas prácticas no como una patología o un desorden, sino como un estilo de vida de un nuevo colectivo social creado y difundido a través de una comunidad virtual, existiendo comportamientos similares a los encontrados en las tribus urbanas (42). Además, en la línea de otros estudios realizados con consumidores que siguen prácticas alimentarias saludables, el hecho de alimentarse del modo que ellos consideran saludable es para los carbofóbicos parte esencial de su identidad (36).…”

Teledietetics Improves Weight Reduction by Modifying Eating Behavior: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Technology allows food diaries to work interactively. [11][12][13][14] Food diaries can be programmed with individuals' online input and are designed to include functions such as food nutrient value reports, energy and nutrient problem identifiers, unhealthy food identifiers, and meal plan designs. 15,16 They can serve as cognitive tools that provide instant dietary evaluations to the individual.…”