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More evidence how — when properly implemented and integrated — a strategic approach to technology can help advance individual health and workplace wellness.

The American Heart Association reports that “people are more likely to adopt heart-healthy behaviors when guided by the Internet, their cellphones or other devices, according to 23 years of research reviewed in Journal of the American Heart Association.”

Said Ashkan Afshin, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D., lead study author and acting assistant professor of global health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle: “Both Internet-based and mobile-based programs can help people become more physically active, eat better and achieve modest weight loss over three to 12 months.”

The findings include:

• “Participants in Internet interventions improved their diets, became more active, lost body weight/fat, reduced tobacco use and cut excessive alcohol use.”
• “Participants in mobile device interventions (using smartphone apps or receiving text or voicemail messages) increased their physical activity and lost body weight/fat.”

And what might this mean for focused programs?

“Programs that have components such as goal-setting and self-monitoring and use multiple modes of communication with tailored messages tended to be more effective,” Afshin said. “We also found these programs were more effective if they included some interactions with healthcare providers.”