A friend of mine whose business is helping people understand and conquer their particular eating demons noted in a recent blog that we make at least 200 different food decisions each day.  That’s a lot of thinking – except all too often we make these “decisions” automatically, without thinking at all, which is the problem.  But if you flip this around, you realize that it’s also many different new beginnings, opportunities to start over and change the trajectory of your health.  And that’s true not only of what we put in your mouths (or, more to the point, don’t) but also relevant regarding most aspects of our health.

For example, here’s a smattering of recent research findings – each demonstrating the power of making many little, good, health-supporting decisions as we go about our day:

Drinking enough water reduces risk for diabetes by 30%. Exercising just 15 minutes/day adds, on average, three years to your life expectancy … up it to 25 minutes a day and you can cancel out a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Flossing your teeth – yes, you read that right – protects against heart disease and pneumonia

We live in an age of miraculous medicine – face transplants, artificial organs and surgical robots, for instance – but the truth is, most of us can make ourselves healthier by making a few good decisions better most days of our lives.   The challenge (and this isn’t hard either, it’s what we do every day at Balance Health Communications) is for those of us in the business of communicating health information to do it in such a way that people not only understand what it takes to get healthy but also want to!

Sunday’s New York Times featured a front page story following an obese New York City teen over a year in which she had bariatric surgery, lost a whole lot of weight and then put half of it right back on. It’s a cautionary tale from many different angles but my conclusion after reading the story was that she was just too young and ill-equipped to succeed. This young girl thinks and acts like a teenager, and an immature one at that — and I mean that kindly, in that she simply doesn’t seem capable of controlling her impulses or considering the consequences of her actions. She needed to have grown-ups in her face every single day … several times a day … to even have a chance at meeting this challenge.

I have four kids –three now in their 20s – so I know of what I speak. Kids need to be told what to do and why and they need to hear it again and again and again.

So that brought my mind to yet another story I read a couple of weeks ago about a study involving teenage binge drinkers, reporting that when their doctors sent them supportive text messages (asking them how much they were drinking and, if it was excessive, urging urging them to drink less – it worked! Dramatically well, in fact – the kids cut back an average of 2.4 drinks/day.

Messaging – text, email, social media – can be an effective and inexpensive way to support healthy behaviors in people of all ages and perhaps most especially teens.

During some recent channel surfing I came upon the show “Extreme Makeover – Weight Loss Edition.”  I’m not typically interested in any show that begins with the word “Extreme” but this one grabbed my attention.  Each episode features a morbidly obese person who can’t seem to make the necessary lifestyle changes to lose weight, even when it destroys health and happiness.

These folks are helicoptered out of their real lives (jobs and family) and taken to a remote destination where temptation is removed, they’re put on a strict diet and pummeled into shape by a celebrity trainer. They come back transformed … healthier, thinner, happier.

The premise of this show really bothered me – even though I cared about and was interested in the people and their heart-wrenching stories.  They are suffering, physically and emotionally, and they obviously need help losing the weight—they would not be in this situation (250 lbs. or more overweight) if they could do it on their own.   And this approach is one solution but, of course, few get to leave life behind for six months to live on a private island staffed with chefs and a celebrity trainer.  (The real life “extreme” option here might be bariatric surgery.)

But I found myself wondering about the show’s message.  Shows like this support our cultural bias toward doing everything to an “extreme” and leave people feeling that extreme measures are the only option.

This is not a practical approach to managing health and weight – whether you’re trying to lose weight or prevent obesity from happening in the first place.  Lifestyle change involves small, subtle changes – micro-decisions even, and not that many! – that people can and must undertake on their own.  To accomplish this they often don’t need much more than some information and practical advice, consistent reminders and the support of friends and family (for instance, willing walking partners and a spouse who doesn’t mind getting rid of tempting food in the kitchen cabinets).

Now that may not make for great television, but it’s a whole lot more practical and effective.

At this year’s New England Society for Healthcare Communicators  conference, Larry Margolis, CEO of SPM Advertising and Marketing, gave a compelling keynote presentation on Ethics in Marketing and Advertising, in which he challenged marketers to weigh in on when, where and how it is appropriate to use superlative claims such as “best” … “only” … and “world class.”  

Time was, Larry said, that the media carefully vetted healthcare advertising, insisting on documentation for claims such as “best,” “the area’s only …” and “#1.”  Now that there is relatively little oversight it seems hospitals and other healthcare advertisers are getting casual about tossing around superlatives and descriptive words that are unsubstantiated or misleading.  For example, a spirited back-and-forth ensued when Larry displayed a billboard promoting one hospital’s new CyberKnife as the only one in the state … despite the fact that another hospital, just a few miles away but in a different state, had one several years earlier.  (Consensus – this crossed the line.)

The group also got a good laugh in a discussion about the one term everyone uses that says pretty much nothing at all … “world class.”

Do you find it challenging to come up with crisp, colorful language to describe your programs and services?  Here are some good, evocative and descriptive words that you (and your readers) may find helpful, that aren’t tired and trite … and don’t go too far.

Distinguished … Attentive … Established … Sensitive … Optimal … Collaborative … Hands on … Strong … Distinctive … Precise … Non-judgmental … Efficient … Effective.

I like those last two – what about you?  What efficient and effective words have you found to convey information about your organization?

It’s usually the naughty ones who know how to get kids to follow in their tracks … those of us wearing white hats can learn a lot about what works from paying close attention.  This fascinating, somewhat disturbing New York Times article describes how effectively food marketers are using online games and social networks to subversively sell their sweet treats to kids.  For instance –

• Kids make regular visits to online sites they like – the writer calls it their “daily digital journey.”  Why not become a part of that?
• Kids love multimedia games, quizzes and cell-phone apps – plenty of opportunity there using the hospital and other community-based web sites as resources.
• Kids not only engage in fun, cool stuff voluntarily but they spread the word – so whatever it costs to reach kids is well worth it
• Kids have influence not only over their peers but also their parents, grandparents and babysitters – yet more bang for the buck.  Since it happens even with unhealthy stuff (like sugar-loaded, non-nutritious breakfast foods) why not turn it around and use this powerful tool for the greater good?
• Kids expect to be talked to in a variety of ways, with one interaction leading to another.  A print ad leads to a web site leads to a cell phone app leads to a Twitter feed, which – for those over age 13 – leads to Facebook.

Come to think of it, isn’t that what good social networking looks like for people of any age?