Year: 2022
Type: editorial
Abstract: Using technology for healthy lifestyle and weight managementTechnology is a double-edged sword when it comes to lifestyle and healthcare.Whilst technology can lead to sedentary behaviors and weight gain, it also has benefits such as greater accessibility and equity for lifestyle modification and health promotion.Traditional lifestyle and weight management interventions are often intense and time consuming hence proving difficult to integrate into routine clinical care.The recent Covid-19 pandemic has further revealed the advantage of technology in delivering health interventions especially when face to face interactions had to be limited.This collection of articles presents a variety of strategies and implications of technology use for healthy lifestyle and weight management including adaptations to target specific populations.It also informs future research by identifying the gaps in the current literature.A meta-review of 72 systematic reviews of Randomised Clinical Trials (RCTs) by Castro et al. demonstrated that smartphone apps and websites were the most frequently used methods of digital health interventions for improving lifestyle.Among the 6 domains of lifestyle, digital health interventions most commonly addressed diet and physical activity.Their review highlights that very few studies to date have investigated the role of digital interventions in other lifestyle aspects including substance use, stress management, sleep, and social relationships.Digital health is a rapidly developing field with over 350,000 applications available globally (1).This vast number of options can leave clinicians and patients feeling inundated and overwhelmed.The review by Ghelani et al. serves to update and notify clinicians about the position of technology in the field of lifestyle and weight Frontiers in Endocrinology frontiersin.
Source: Frontiers in Endocrinology
Institutions: Monash University, Boston University
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,950
OpenAlex ID: W4289745394