Text messages meeting people where they are allow children to avoid becoming obese, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Childhood obesity is a worldwide problem with long term health implications, especially cardiovascular disease. Now a study co-led by Johns Hopkins pediatrics expert Eliana Perrin has shown a personalized program of text messages to parents of very young infants staved off obesity in the first two years of life.

Perrin: We built it to be easy. When we were building this we were building it to be intentionally asynchronous. Basically it means that it can be done outside of that office visit. As much as parents are in the pediatrics office in the first two years of life to have a texting intervention that can reach them where they are, reminding them of these healthy goals as part of their daily routine we think that's what made the difference.   :27

Children were enrolled in this intervention at an average age of five days. Perrin says parents are exceptionally motivated participants to raise their children healthily, and that means sleep, screen time, diet and physical activity, all of which are covered in the texts. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.