Skip to main content

ASU expert says social media may help in the battle to lose weight


October 13, 2014

In a recent National Public Radio story on how social media is earning its stripes as a support system for people looking to lose weight, Christopher Wharton, assistant professor of nutrition at  Arizona State University, said that Internet-based media may hold individuals who're trying to lose weight and eat healthier more accountable to their goals.

"Even though you are virtually dispersed, you can sign on to those platforms multiple times a day, and talk about your progress, your perceived failures, and immediately receive responses from friends and other acquaintances who are connected to you," he was quoted as saying.

Wharton, who has recently published a study that shows that smartphone applications may help with better dietary monitoring, said the ease of use of applications and the ubiquity of social media might trump in-person support group meetings held once or twice a week.

Article source: National Public Radio

More ASU in the news

 

Arizona State University helping prepare people for careers in growing semiconductor industry

Matthew McConaughey and ASU are helping an Arizona school district. Here's how

We need to address the generative AI literacy gap in higher education