The Telephone And Weight Loss
There once was a time not too long ago when people spoke on the phone.1Yes, they actually put the phone to their head and used their mouth — not fingers!!! — to form words to communicate with someone on the other end who also had a phone to their head.
That’s no longer the case, as everyone texts now and no one wants to make calls or is deathly afraid of receiving them.
If you want to lose weight, that should probably change!
Several studies throughout the years have found that telephone-based support and coaching is as effective as meetings, personal training, and other face-to-face interventions at improving physical activity, eating habits, and overall health.
EXAMPLE (1):
A study of 954 overweight or obese participants in a telephone coaching group experienced a significant downward trend in BMI in the 12 months after their first session compared to the group of 19,080 participants with similar starting BMIs who didn’t receive telephone coaching.
EXAMPLE (2):
After 2 years, a study of 415 obese participants found that those in the in-person coaching group and telephone coaching group lost an average of 11 and 10 lbs, respectively, while the reduction in body weight for the group that received neither was about 2 lbs.
As for why you should consider doing something as archaic as talking on the phone when you could achieve the same results by not talking on the phone and instead doing face-to-face coaching, there are a few reasons.
One is that the phone allows for more scheduling flexibility. Another is that phone counseling is generally a cheaper service than in-person coaching, with you also saving cost by not having to drive to and fro. And speaking of not having to drive anywhere, time, our most precious commodity, is also saved. Lastly, by not having to face someone directly and be under their judgy gaze, you may be more encouraged to open up, all while doing so from the comfort of an environment of your choosing rather than from somewhere you may not feel as safe.2All of these reasons may be why the second study also noted that the phone group made a far greater number of scheduled calls to its coaches than participants did in going to their in-person group or individual sessions.
Are you ready to reach out and touch someone now?
…
Whoa, before you catch a molestation charge or some other offense for unwanted contact, let me tell you that that’s a turn of phrase popularized by AT&T when the telecommunications company first employed it as part of its ad campaign in the 1980s to encourage people to pick up the phone and use its service to call people!
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