Personal Feedback Aids Fitness Progress

Researchers show that daily reinforcement helps adults stick to their exercise goals. Using personal digital assistants (PDAs) to give daily feedback to adults about their fitness progress helps them stick with an exercise program, a new study says. An example of a message for participants who met their exercise goals for the day: “Super job on the physical activity. Try to repeat this tomorrow.” For those who didn’t achieve their daily goal, the message might have said: “Don’t get disheartened; you still have time to meet your physical activity goals. Hint: Take a walk; it will pay off!” Adults who received the PDA messages were most likely to stick with their exercise program, and adherence was associated with high physical activity levels and weight loss. journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, March 2011