weight loss

Study: ‘Virtual Coach’ Helps Keep Overweight People Moving

If you’ve been talking with Siri on your iPhone lately, you know how deeply natural it is to respond to a computer-generated “person” as if they were human even when you know perfectly well they’re built of nothing but bits. (I heard my 85-year-old dad tell his iPhone after a failed query the other day, “Thank you for trying.”)

Researchers had already found that patients tend to respond well to post-hospital instructions from computer-generated “discharge nurses.” Now, a new study finds that “virtual coaches” can help overweight people get more active, at least during a 12-week study.

(Of course I applaud anything that helps encourage exercise, but I’m having a dark vision at the moment: An AI-based coach built into my alarm clock, intoning, “You know you have to get up now to have time to work out, because it’s been three days and you’re up one pound and your blood sugar is a bit high from that ice cream and you know you’re hoping to fit into those jeans by Memorial Day!” On the other hand, maybe that’s what it takes…)

First, what is a virtual coach? There she is above, and Partners Healthcare’s Center for Connected Health explains in a press release:

“The Virtual Coach is a computer-animated advisor and simulated face-to-face conversation, including verbal and non-verbal communication, including goal setting, positive reinforcement, problem solving, education and social interaction. Dialogue was tailored based on the participant’s progress, current status against their goals and interaction with the Virtual Coach (i.e., asking the Virtual Coach a question or asked for help).” Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Medicine/Science, Personal Health, diabetes, obesity, virtual medicine, weight loss

January 18, 2012 | 1:26 PM | By Carey Goldberg

Boston Mayor Pledges To Lose 2 Lbs A Month; Councillors Up The Ante

Mayor Menino in a September interview at WBUR

The big news from Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s 19th State of the City speech last night was about overhauling the city’s school assignment system, but let’s not neglect the health elements in his address. WBUR’s Delores Handy covered the speech and reports on a “Biggest Loser” moment afterward.

WBUR's Delores Handy

In his speech, Mayor Menino noted that half of Bostonians are overweight, and said: “Look, weight is an issue that many of us struggle with. But what is daunting on our own becomes doable when we work together. So my goal is to see all of us combine to shed a million pounds this year.”

Delores reports that after the speech, Menino pledged personally to lose at least two pounds a month for the next year.

City councillor Tito Jackson one-upped the mayor and pledged to lose three pounds a month.

Councillor Felix Arroyo raised the ante just a bit, saying he’d go to 3.2 pounds a month, and that he could use help with his weight loss efforts.

Gentlemen, start your engines….

See Delores Handy’s excellent full report on the State of the City speech here.

FILED UNDER: Medicine/Science, Personal Health, mayor thomas menino, obesity, weight loss

August 29, 2011 | 1:14 PM | By Rachel Zimmerman

Let’s Do Lunch (Or Not): Lighter Midday Meal Eases Weight Loss, Study Finds

Easy on the mayo: Study finds lighter lunch helps shed the pounds

When I worked at a big daily newspaper, everyone went out to lunch. I hated it. The guys would get these large pasta dishes with bread, or big plates of Thai noodles, or massive meat-laden sandwiches. Even the salads weren’t salads. They had bacon bits and raisins and nuts and lots of ranch dressing. If I joined them, I inevitably felt exhausted, bloated and guilty for the rest of the day. I always felt better with my little cup of yogurt and fruit.

Well, a new study today vindicates my anti-lunch position:

Researchers at Cornell report that simply eating a lighter lunch can help people lose weight fairly painlessly.

Their research, published in the October issue of the journal Appetite, found that people who grazed on “portion-controlled” lunches didn’t make up for those calories by stuffing themselves later in the day. That, according to a Cornell press release, led researchers “to believe the human body does not possess the mechanisms necessary to notice a small drop in energy intake,” and could be a path to modest weight loss.

“The study closely monitored the food intake of 17 volunteers who ate whatever they wanted from a buffet for one week. For the next two weeks, half the group selected their lunch by choosing from one of six commercially available, portion-controlled foods, such as Chef Boyardee Pasta or Campbell’s Soup at Hand, but could eat as much as they wished at other meals or snacks. For the final two weeks, the other half of volunteers followed the same regimen.

While eating portion-controlled lunches, each participant consumed 250 fewer calories per day and lost, on average, 1.1 pounds.”

Doctoral student Carly Pacanowski, who co-authored the study with David Levitsky, Cornell professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology is quoted saying: “Making small reductions in energy intake to compensate for the increasing number of calories available in our food environment may help prevent further weight gain, and one way of doing this could be to consume portion-controlled lunches a few times a week.” She adds: “Over a year, such a regimen would result in losing at least 25 pounds.”

FILED UNDER: Medicine/Science, Personal Health, research, weight loss

October 18, 2010 | 2:13 PM | By Carey Goldberg

Book Note: Lose Weight By Reading

I swear, I lost fifteen pounds by reading three books. Or at least, the books so inspired me to eat better and exercise more that without them, I don’t think I could have done it.

The weight came off about a year ago, and several of the pounds have crept back, so I took note when I saw in this succinct Q&A that one of the books, “The End of Overeating,” by former FDA commissioner David Kessler, is just out in paperback. I think I need to read it again. I’m not sure what to call this weight-loss method. Cognitive? Conceptual? Literary? But I can attest that it made a big difference.

I’m no weight-loss professional. But here’s my three-book diet:

In “The End of Overeating,” Kessler’s descriptions of restaurant and processed foods as combinations of “fat, fat, sugar, salt, sugar and fat” drastically affected how I perceived foods that once would have looked much more tempting, from chicken wings to nachos.

Dr. George Blackburn’s “Break Through Your Set Point” convinced me that, contrary to the gloom-and-doom statistics about how the vast majority of dieters quickly regain all they lose, it really is possible to lose weight and keep it off.

In “Spark,” local psychiatrist John Ratey’s descriptions of how exercise enhances brain function and mood are the most persuasive arguments for hitting the treadmill I’ve ever read.

Has a particular book helped you eat better or exercise more? Which one?

FILED UNDER: Personal Health, diet, exercise, weight loss

October 13, 2010 | 6:58 AM | By Carey Goldberg

Daily Rounds: ‘Biggest Loser’ Study; Denial of Insurance; ‘Myth Of CSI’; Hospitals Lure Doctors; Vaccine Language

'Biggest Loser' workouts drop fat without losing muscle mass – USATODAY.com“The grueling boot-camp workouts on NBC's The Biggest Loser help contestants lose large amounts of body fat while preserving their muscle mass, a new study shows.”(USA Today)

Insurers Denied Coverage to 1 in 7 – WSJ.com “The four largest U.S. for-profit health insurers on average denied policies to one out of every seven applicants based on their prior medical history, according to a congressional investigation released Tuesday.” (Wall Street Journal)

The myth of CSI – The Boston Globe “The quality of American crime scene forensics is wildly inconsistent: many labs have poorly trained investigators, antiquated equipment, and cases backed up for weeks. In some labs, investigators have purposely altered test results in order to get findings that favor the prosecution.” (Boston Globe)

Hospitals Lure Doctors Away From Private Practice : NPR “Last year, half of new doctors were hired by hospitals, according to the Medical Group Management Association, a professional organization for physician practices. According to a 2009 report by the American Medical Association, 1 in 6 doctors works for a hospital, and the number is quickly growing.” (npr.org)

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Vaccine Case Against Wyeth – NYTimes.com “Much of the argument concerned the meaning of the word ‘unavoidable.’” (The New York Times)

FILED UNDER: Insurance, Medicine/Science, Personal Health, doctors, insurance, weight loss

August 24, 2010 | 7:58 AM | By Carey Goldberg

‘Gold-Standard’ Study: Water Does Help Weight Loss

Greg Riegler via Flickr

Water seems to help weight loss

It’s virtually free! It has no health downside unless you drink gallons of it! It really does help you lose weight!

Some encouraging news out of the American Chemical Society convention now under way in Boston: A “gold-standard” clinical trial — randomized and controlled so that some dieters drank water and some didn’t — confirmed the old wisdom that drinking more water aids weight loss. Other research had recently called into question the maxim that we should drink eight glasses of water a day.

From the American Chemical Society’s report: Continue reading →