Goal-Setting and Follow-Up Key to Lasting Lifestyle Changes

July 12, 2010 -- A mix of counseling, self-monitoring and following up with a health care provider is the ideal means of getting patients to make lifestyle changes that will last, and lower their risk of heart disease, researchers say.

In a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, researchers recommended goal-setting and establishing a plan for follow-up as among the most important components of successful and durable lifestyle interventions, according to Nancy T. Artinian, a registered nurse at the Wayne State University College of Nursing in Detroit, and her colleagues.

The scientific statement was published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

"We need to do a better job finding ways to help people not only change their behaviors, but maintain them over a lifetime," Artinian said in a statement.

"As health care providers, we're pretty good at saying that you are at risk for a disease, you need to lose weight, be more physically active, and eat more fruits and vegetables," she added. "While that's easy to say, it's not easy for the person to actually translate it into their everyday life."

Behavior Changes Are Easier Said Than Done

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming 2,300 lives every day -- one death every 38 seconds -- despite evidence that even modest lifestyle changes can substantially reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, according to the American Heart Association.

Many people make lifestyle changes, such as changing their eating habits, but do not maintain them over time.

But physicians assert that it's not just patient behaviorr at fault. Lack of insurance coverage of effective programs remains a challenge as well.

"The immediate issue is to provide reimbursement to providers, especially physicians, for behavioral counseling around lifestyle changes," Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe, director of the Center for Healthful Behavior Change at New York University, wrote in an e-mail. "This will encourage providers to engage their patients more often."