Healthy Swellness: Texting your way to a healthier diet

January 11, 2013

A new study published in the journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that receiving healthy lifestyle texts can improve one’s eating habits.

The study focused on teens, since teenagers receive an average of 3,417 texts per month (while also doing quite poorly when it comes to eating their RDA of fruits and veggies).

But I figure I’m a frequent texter — in fact my mom recently scolded me for always being on my phone — so I’m thinking the findings (that texts in an active voice and referencing acheivable behaviours for your particular age group) might be applicable for those of us out of our teens, too!

Think about it: maybe getting a text at around 5PM about how walking home will burn off a couple hundred calories might convince you to make the trek on foot rather than hopping on the subway. Or a text about buying a veggie that’s in season, highlighting its nutritional benefits might prompt you to do just that.

P.S. Didja know this is how Brussels sprouts grew?? Saw these in my grocery store and I had no idea! I went back to buy myself a stalk of it, but alas, they were back to being sold simply all loose in a bushel. Still delicious, just not on the nifty, straight-off-the-farm stalk.

Filed under: Healthy Swellness

Tags: Brussels sprouts, healthy diet, healthy habits, healthy lifestyle, iMessage, SMS, teens, text, texting