Maintaining healthy habits is a crucial part of life, but doing so is notoriously difficult, even for the best of us.  New research from Drexel University explores how sharing our health data may help us to maintain healthy behaviors for longer.

The researchers tracked a group of participants in a 12-month weight loss program, with each of them asked to complete three self-monitoring activities every day.  They were asked not only to wear a Fitbit fitness tracker, but also to log their food intake in an app and weigh themselves on a wireless scale.

The program began with a weekly group session where participants learned behavioral skills.  These continued for three months, after which participants received a weekly text message and a monthly phone call from their coach.

“This is the period that is often hard for folks who want to lose weight,” the researchers explain. “And weight that is initially lost tends to start to be regained.”

Keeping going

The participants were randomized during the maintenance phase, with half working with a coach that had access to the data they were self-reporting.  The coach would use this data during their conversations.  The other half worked with coaches who did not have access to this data.

Each coach shared what they observed from the data in terms of any changes in the behavior and habits of their mentees, before trying to help them understand and evaluate the success with which they had met their goals.  The results clearly show that having access to data helped the participants keep their weight down.

“We were interested to see if weight-loss maintenance would be better when coaches could see the data and provide feedback and a sense of accountability to participants, which might help sustain a high level of motivation to keep up healthy eating behaviors and physical activity,” the researchers say.

As we strive to keep as fit as possible in these trying times, perhaps sharing our data can help us to do so.