Losing Weight Requires the Right Tools, But Not Necessarily the Fanciest Ones

Self-tracking is an effective way to change behaviors. That’s the result of a study conducted last year by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

“The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” says Jack Hollis PhD, a researcher at KPCHR and lead author of the study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.

Brian MossopOctober 5, 2009behavior change, personal health monitor, self-monitoring Comment

What the NYT and Slate Don't Seem to Understand About Behavior Change

Two articles posted online got under my skin this morning, and I just couldn't resist giving my two cents. First, Tara Parker-Pope, of the New York Times says:

Most obesity researchers now agree that metabolic differences, not willpower, are the driving forces behind weight and appetite control. Studies suggest that an imbalance of brain chemicals and hormones, including cortisol, ghrelin, leptin and serotonin, can increase cravings and make certain foods difficult to resist.

Brian MossopSeptember 23, 2009behavior change, diet, metabolismComment

Exercise and Stroke

In a previous post, I talked about evidence that exercise can ward off dementia. Now a study discussed at Science Daily shows new findings in the relationship between exercise and stroke. Stroke is often causes by an ischemic event (lack of blood flow) in the brain, mostly due to a blood clot or atherosclerosis. In essence, stroke is a caused by unhealthy blood vessels. We've known for years that just as in heart disease, diet and exercise also go a long way in preventing stroke.

Brian MossopJuly 29, 2009exer, strokeComment

My Sleep Coach Just Told Me to...Well, Sleep!

A friend of mine sent me a link to a new device that aims to improve the quality of sleep you're getting (thanks, Andy). Say hello to the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach. Armed with a hypoallergenic wireless headband and an alarm clock-like receiver, you can analyze how your beauty rest is affected by things that go bump in the night (literally, for the dog in the YouTube clip above).

Brian MossopJuly 29, 2009self-monitoring, sleepComment

Aspen health forum: crossroads of healthcare thinking

I'm spending the weekend at the Aspen Health Forum in, uh, Aspen. It's an interesting lineup- there's dr. Oz and Deepak Chopra and Goldie Hawn doing the wellness thing, dan glickman and Anthony fauci and Tom daschle doing the policy thing, and Adam bosworth and Linda stone and David Agustin doing the tech/medicine thing. With reform looming, it makes sense to dwell on the prospect of where to take healthcare, and there are some intriguing panels on global health and swine flu. I'm loking forward to catching up on those topics.It is interesting to me, though, how there's a problem- centric orientation to the discussion, but for the touchy-feely stuff from Chopra et al. I guess I like my optimism to come from science and strategy rather than talk of happiness and yoga. (Esther dyson tweeter this thought much quicker than I've explained it here).

Thomas GoetzJuly 25, 2009The Decision TreeComment

Personal Metrics for 20,000 People at Once

I'm honing in on the last week of training before I run the SF Half Marathon on July 26th. As I'm gearing up for the race, an article on Technology Review that talked about the improvements that have been made in race timing over the past 20 years caught my eye. Races now use lightweight RFID bands that activate when you hit the start-line (which could be up to 10 minutes after the "gun start" if there are a lot of runners), and stop timing when you cross the finish line. In essence, the RFID band has eliminated the issues of a delayed start in a crowded race, and enabled more accurate timing for all runners.

Brian MossopJuly 17, 2009Comment

Science Rock Stars

In a recent post, I talked about the dangers of celebrities promoting pseudoscience. Well, maybe the celebrities have redeemed themselves. GQ featured a pictorial of scientists kicking it with rock stars such as Joe Perry and Sheryl Crow, aimed to raise public awareness of important medical and scientific research.

Brian MossopJune 12, 2009media, scienceComment

Kick Your Butts

There's no way around it, smoking is bad for you. On top of the negative health effects, smoking also strains our economy. In fact, current estimates suggest $100 billion health care dollars could be saved each year by reducing the number of smokers. So to offer some food for thought for any smokers out there, I wanted to share some of my recent findings. First, I came across some interesting statistics that I wanted to share (from Science Progress):

Brian MossopJune 11, 2009health care reform, smokingComment

Celebrity Nonscience

Two recent blogosphere topics revolve around celebrities handing out scientific advice. I want to be clear in this post, I'm a huge fan of citizen science, where the public invokes the scientific method to run their own series of experiments, and answer scientific questions for themselves. After all, science is not meant to be stuffed away in a lab, only attempted by rubber-gloved scientists in white lab coats. Science needs to live and breathe on our streets, in our schools, and in our backyards. But it bothers me when celebrities start dishing out anecdotal advice as "science-based", when it's simply based on isolated personal experiences. Such advice is not citizen science, but rather a ploy to gain media attention, boost ratings, or sell products and books. I want to highlight two excellent articles I came across -- one that discusses the science that debunked the autism-vaccine controversy, the other on the danger of Oprah's health advice.

Brian MossopJune 7, 2009Comment

Pregnancy: Epigenetic and Developmental Links

There were two posts at ScienceDaily today that discussed the consequences of mothers' choices during pregnancy on the future health of their children. The first stated that the children of mothers that smoked cigarettes during pregnancy were more likely to smoke in the future, and would find it harder to quit if they tried. The second discussed the link between obese pregnant mothers and children who developed asthma. Presumably, obesity causes a pro-inflammatory response, which may predispose the fetus to cytokines that cause respiratory inflammation that leads to the development of asthma in later life. These posts have me thinking about just how much a mother's life affects a fetus during pregnancy at the epigentic and developmental levels. In my preliminary search, I've found a couple other interesting stories. One article discussed how maternal feeding affects the biological clock of the fetus. Another report talked about how maternal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) changes fetal gene expression.

Brian MossopMay 21, 2009development, epigenetics, pregnancyComment

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