What Is a Lifestyle Programme?

1. What Exactly Is It?

A lifestyle programme is not a medicine and not a powder. It is more like an appointment. You make an appointment with yourself: I move a little more. I eat something that does me good more often. I go to bed earlier. The word lifestyle means exactly that: how you live. So what you eat, how much you move, when you sleep and how you deal with stress. With a programme someone joins in who accompanies you. That can be a group in which everyone meets. It can also be an app that asks how it went. Often it is both together: you receive messages on your mobile phone, and from time to time someone calls or you meet. The important thing is: you take the steps yourself. No one takes them for you. And the steps are small. For example, taking the stairs more often instead of the lift. Or drinking water instead of lemonade in the evening. Small steps sound unspectacular. But they are easier to keep up than big plans that already hurt after three days.

2. How Does Such a Programme Run?

Lifestyle programmes look different. Some last a few weeks, some a whole year. In many programmes the participants meet in a group. A supervisor explains something, and then everyone tries something together. Other programmes run over the internet. You receive messages on your mobile phone, for example a tip for breakfast or a reminder for the walk. Sometimes someone calls you and asks how it is going. In many programmes you set yourself a small goal for the week. At the end you check: did it work? If not, you look together for a new way. This is called support. It is not meant to control you, but to encourage you.

3. What Do the Researchers Investigate?

Researchers look at such programmes in many groups. They want to know: do the people move more afterwards? Do they feel better? One study examined women with an ovarian disease. Another study accompanied women whose blood sugar was too high during pregnancy with an internet programme. Other researchers had people with an early kidney disease do exercise training. One study tested whether a programme with mobile messages and telephone support helps young adults maintain their weight. And another study asked whether an intensive lifestyle change influences the course of early memory problems. Some results are encouraging. It is still open whether the effect lasts a long time and whether it is the same for all people. Small studies are indications, not proofs. They often give rise to the next, larger questions.

4. An Experiment for Thinking About

Think of an evening when you are really tired but absolutely want to watch another episode of your series. Now imagine you make a small appointment with yourself for a week: you always go to bed at the same time. And in the morning you write down how you feel — tired, awake, in a good mood, in a bad mood. After the week you look at your notes like a researcher. What do you notice? Maybe you sleep better. Maybe you notice nothing at all. Both are a result. Researchers do the same: they try something out and then look honestly at what happened. They just compare their notes with those of many people.

For Adults and Professionals: the detailed page on lifestyle programme.