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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
The Internet has provided a great forum for people to cultivate friendships and find mutual support, from social networking sites to online communities.
But what if social networking were used to help people overcome difficult issues such as obesity and weight loss? This idea prompted McKay-Dee Hospital emergency physician Camilo Torres and his wife, Jennifer, to create MyWeightLossTeam.com, a Web site designed to offer support and help to those battling the bulge.
After giving birth to twins in 1999, Jennifer was trying to lose 80 pounds. In 1999, she hosted a personal Web site where she conducted weight loss challenges for teams of individuals who competed via the Internet to lose weight. After successfully running these challenges for many months, the number of people asking to join became unmanageable. This is because Jennifer found that the Internet became a means for people to develop anonymous cyber friends they could be completely open with.
The concept provides daily accountability, fosters long-term behavior modification and allows candid communication between participants. Dr. Torres explained that losing weight is about so much more than counting calories and tracking exercise. While most people think obesity is about food, he says it has more to do with an unhealthy relationship with food that is seldom addressed.
MyWeightLossTeam.com is intended to offer the daily accountability needed to successfully lose weight. It allows participants to be matched according to personal preferences, and it gives each member an online journal, daily food log, and his or her own Web space to upload pictures. It also provides team and community message boards to foster communication.
Obesity is a growing epidemic, and both Dr. Torres and Jennifer are concerned about the health problems it can cause. MyWeightLossTeam.com is a great tool to provide a unique and effective way to lose weight.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
Web site: MyWeightLossTeam.com
