Using Technology to Stay Healthy

Leslie Lytle

A new clinical trial aims to combat obesity by capitalizing on technology and social media’s influence on young adults.

In the new CHOICES trial (Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and Settings), an SPH team will test a forcredit course and web-based social networking as a way to prevent unhealthy weight gain in 440 student participants attending three community colleges in Minnesota.

The trial is one of seven nationwide to test the role of technologybased weight management approaches—such as cell phone applications, text messaging, web-based social networking, and Bluetooth-enabled weight monitors—targeted to at-risk young adults.

SPH professor Leslie Lytle chairs the steering committee of the trials and is the principal investigator for CHOICES.

All will be supported by $36 million in funding over five years by the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, with support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Listen to Leslie Lytle on Public Health Moment