Can Text Messaging Help You Lose Weight?

I typically use text messaging solely for my sweetheart, Nanci, to tell her how much I love her. Apparently, there are other ways text messaging is helping others outside the romance department. Researchers from UC San Diego’s School of Medicine PACE (Patient-centered Assessment and Counseling for Exercise and Nutrition) project will launch their first text-related weight loss program, called mDIET, this fall. The 16-week study is funded by a $200,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health and will follow 60 adults, ages 25 to 55, who are overweight or mildly obese.

Reaching for that extra cookie sounds like a good idea, but then your cell phone rings. “How many servings of fruits and vegetables have you had today?” the text reads. Despite text messaging’s growing use among cell phone owners, few studies have been done regarding how texts can be used to combat addiction to food or tobacco.