The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at NIH is funding seven programs that are using technology – especially social media technologies – to help deliver behavioral weight management programs. The programs target young adults ages 18-35. And there is an opportunity for folks in Minnesota. Actually you can get a full list of programs online – maybe with the use of technology geography isn’t a barrier for any of the programs – but at least one is based in Minnesota. Apparently the programs will start in early 2011.

• Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and Settings (CHOICES) at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, will test a for-credit course that includes Web-based social networking to prevent unhealthy weight gain in 440 student participants attending two-year community colleges. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01134783. Participant contact: (612) 624-2374 or Megan Treziok (trezi003@umn.edu)

What’s funny is that I just had a little taste of combining technology and fitness and health myself. One of my clients is a Pilates instructor and she is using Facebook to promote a fitness plan for her clients – 50 push-ups and 25 triceps dips every day in December and you win a prize. Obviously it’s new – but the response has been terrific with comments on the Facebook page and blog. (And yes, I plan to win that prize!) Another client provides therapeutic release from pain and anxiety. She just started offering relaxation classes via live streaming programming on Ustream. Again it’s quite new but it’s been a hit so far.

I think the key in the local examples – and maybe they’ll find the same in the big studies – is that these tools are convenient, they are there on a just-in-time delivery basis, they allow for community support while allowing you to choose your level of privacy. It feels wrong to call these killer apps – but I think they could help encourage ubiquitous adoption.