Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialDevelopment of Alive! (A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email), and its effect on health-related quality of life, presenteeism, and other behavioral outcomes: randomized controlled trial.
Cost-effective interventions to improve diet and physical activity are a public health priority. Alive! is an email-based intervention to increase physical activity, reduce saturated and trans fats and added sugars, and increase fruit and vegetable consumption. It was shown to improve these behaviors in a large randomized controlled trial. ⋯ Cost-effective methods that can reach large populations with science-based interventions are urgently needed. Alive! is a fully automated low-cost intervention shown to effect significant improvements in important health parameters.
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The Internet has great potential to provide assistance to millions of smokers who seek help with quitting smoking. ⋯ While the quality of treatment offered in WATIs has improved since our previous review in 2004, there is substantial room for further improvement to ensure that smokers are offered high-quality, evidence-based treatments. It is not clear what degree of informational detail and interactivity is optimal for Web-based smoking cessation treatments. Additional research is needed to understand how to maximize the interactive capabilities of the Internet to produce and sustain population-based health behavior change.