Text messaging could promote obesity-related behavior change
Text messaging is a promising mechanism for supporting pediatric obesity-related behavior change, and parent perspectives could assist in the design of such interventions, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital conducted focus groups and follow-up interviews with 31 parents of a diverse group of overweight and obese children, aged 6-12 years, seen for “well-child” care in eastern Massachusetts. Seven participants then received three weeks of text messages before a follow-up one-on-one telephone interview.
Parents were generally enthusiastic about receiving text messages to support healthy behaviors for their children and preferred them to paper or email communication because they are brief and difficult to ignore. Participants anticipated high responsiveness to messaging endorsed by their child’s physician and indicated they would appreciate messages two to three times/week or more as long as content remains relevant, meaning they contain actionable strategies and are personalized, according to the study.
“Text messaging is a promising and low-cost medium for supporting pediatric obesity-related behavior change that is easily scalable within a healthcare system and appears to have high acceptability among parents of overweight and obese children. Studying actual behavior change in response to text messaging will be a critical next step,” wrote Mona Sharifi, MD, MPH, division of general pediatrics, and colleagues.
Read the full study here.