Email alerts and messages may help you adopt better exercise habits! A recent study at the University of Alberta, Canada, looked at the effects that emails containing healthy information had on a group of workers. During the 12-week study period, 1,566 members of the group got regular messages about healthy eating and physical activity, while 555 people did not receive the emails.
The group who got the emails increased physical activity levels by about 3% and improved their eating habits. While that doesn’t seem like much, those who didn’t get the emails actually decreased their physical activity by about 11% and had just a slight increase in healthy eating habits. And even more impressive, the email group also ended up with a small reduction in BMI, while the average BMI of the other group went up slightly.
The emails seemed to build “more confidence in being able to participate in physical activity, greater intention to participate in physical activity, and perceived more advantages and fewer disadvantages of physical activity participation,” according to researchers. “The findings of this study suggest that email-based physical activity and dietary messages can produce small changes in physical activity attitudes and behavior and nutrition-related behavior,” the researchers wrote.
Well, there you have it; a simple email reminder here and there may help keep your eye on the prize. I think I’ll keep those semi-annoying health tips coming after all!
