In Profile: Michael Coons

"Making healthy choices is often perceived as not being fun — people associate it with ‘missing out’ on things they enjoy,” says Professor Michael Coons, a health psychologist and expert in technology-supported behavioural interventions for obesity. 

For Coons, technology provides an opportunity to make healthy choices fun and engaging. He says that leveraging video game development strategies can increase a child’s engagement with health, help children build a supportive social environment by connecting with others and foster some healthy ‘competition’ with oneself or others.

Coons is a former co-lead of the primary care component of a diabetes prevention initiative in Markham. This community-based program — the Markham Diabetes Game Changing Initiative — makes information, as well as diabetes-specific care and treatment, more easily available to local residents.

“The vast majority of decisions about diet and physical activity happen outside of an office or clinic,” says Coons. “We need to provide people with tools to help them make healthier decisions, where the decisions are actually made.”

Coons says technologies can enable a virtual connection between people and their care providers that can be leveraged for coaching or support. He notes that habits, by definition, are created outside our conscious awareness. And he believes technologies may help us uncover habitual patterns or interactions between people that could lead to more effective programs that prevent or manage childhood obesity and related problems.

But Coons also points out that childhood malnutrition and obesity are complex issues, which won’t be solved by technology alone. He says inequity in access to healthy food options, where less healthy foods are much cheaper and more easily available than more nutritious options, is an important issue. And he notes that less active time in the classroom and home environments, as well as the inability of parents and caregivers to implement and model healthy choices, are also contributing factors.

Policy is also an issue. “We lack policies and initiatives by both government and the private sector to improve access to healthy food,” says Coons, who is also a member of the Obesity Committee Council for Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health at the American Heart Association. “For example, there are few regulations limiting access to sugar sweetened beverages and high calorie foods in spaces that children frequent, such as schools and recreation centres.”

Coons says we also need to ensure open access to recreation spaces, increase subsidies for physical activity programming in the community, and provide stable and committed funding for school-based physical activity programs. “We need to consider physical activity a priority across our institutions, rather than luxury activity, if and when we have the extra time and money to commit to it,” he says. “Finally, we would benefit from more family-based programs to support the implementation and modeling of healthy lifestyles for our youth.”

When it comes to practical advice that families can follow to make a difference in their health, Coons suggests that small changes made consistently over time lead to major changes and significant health benefits. “Consider what small changes you can make today that can help to achieve a healthier weight. Add an apple for a snack. Park your car in the furthest spot in the parking lot. Take the stairs, rather than the elevator,” he says. “These changes are relatively simple, fit into your existing routines and over time can lead to better health outcomes for everyone.”