August 17, 2010
Posted by: Michelle Meyers
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What’s your attitude when it comes to getting in shape and being healthy? Is it a good one? Or do you diet and exercise under the “kicking and screaming all the way” category?
Turns out that the way you approach managing your health has lots to do with your success rate.
No surprise there. But now there’s proof. Behavioral researchers at MicroMass Communications have identified a Metabolic Mindset™ that could be the key to helping physicians, nurses and other healthcare educators successfully influence patients with type 2 diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol to adopt healthier lifestyle changes such as losing weight, eating better, getting more exercise, and giving up cigarettes.
So what mindset do you have?
Here are the four types of metabolic patients, their percentage of the total study population, and suggested ways of motivating each:
Cruise Control - 19 percent
These patients follow their doctors' orders and manage their conditions pretty well, but may not understand the seriousness of their disease or the value of treating it by changes in behavior. This makes them vulnerable to backsliding. Strong and repeated reinforcement is a must, using self-assessment tools that concretely demonstrate the benefits of behavior change.
