Lean Digital: How Apps and Services Can Help Control Weight

Is anyone not obsessed with weight? The health care field certainly is. Researchers have found ties between high body weight and an oversized list of unhealthy conditions. Payers have invested enormous amounts of money in decreasing individuals’ body weights. A Congressional bill would promote behavioral therapy for obesity and extend Medicare coverage for drugs treating obesity. And yet weights continue to rise around the world, and the phenomenon starts at very young ages. The rapidly expanding use of GLP-1 drugs has been life-altering for many, but brings its own disappointments: They’re extremely expensive, require continual use to be effective, have potentially negative effects on muscle mass, and are usually abandoned by patients. Paul T Jaeckel, a private practice dietitian at Paul Jaeckel Nutrition, warns that they tend to become “forever” medications. Surgery is also expensive, with risks of its own, and its effects often don’t last. In this series, we’ll feast on the contributions of digital technologies to weight control: remote monitoring and coaching, adherence support, genetic and phenotypic testing, nutritional advice, and more. These technologies can accompany or replace other medical interventions such as medications. I’ll also set a place at the table for activists who oppose the obsession with reducing weight and who call for obesity to be destigmatized. This first article in the series lays out what the medical field c...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: AI/Machine Learning Analytics/Big Data Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring Behavior Management Behavioral Change GLP-1 Healthcare Motivation Lean Digital Weight Loss S Source Type: blogs