Shifting from Measurement to Meaning in Keeping People Moving [Podcast Series]
[:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guest, Dr. Heather McKee
Dr. Heather McKee is a health behavior change consultant.
She is also the Motivation Science Advisor for MyZone.
[1:09] Supporting people with consistent healthy behaviors
“It wasn't just the exercise piece or the nutrition piece or the health piece, it was actually the people piece that really caught me. And I kind of, you know, we're very good at telling people what to do for their health, but we're not, we're far less supportive at actually helping them do it consistently.”
[4:25] The secret sauce for health behavior change
“It went on to be a lot of my research, was like trying to understand why some people could make habits stick while so many other people fail, and what was the key differentiators? You know, what was the secret sauce that they had that other people didn’t, or what were the people doing wrong that you know they weren't doing?”
[6:48] What the fitness industry gets right and wrong about health behavior change
“And I think, if I was to summarize what we kind of get wrong in one line is that we've optimized that for that starting but not staying. So we put everything in on getting people started, and actually not as much getting them to stick.”
[11:50] Shifting from measurement to meaning in keeping people moving
“And that's where I get a little bit frustrated with the tech industry, because at the moment, it feels like a lot of it is focused on tracking metrics and outcomes, and we know that information doesn't equal implementation, and data on its own does not drive behavior, and what matters most is what that data means to the person. And so we need to kind of make that shift from just measurement to meaning.”
[20:21] Making data actionable
“I think from the client side, it's a little bit more obvious to me, because it's about what's most translatable and actionable for them. And so instead of giving people metrics, give them what's most important at first.”
[26:37] Barriers and facilitators to motivation
“And I think actually what you I left out with in terms of from an operator point of view, and what I personally think that operators should be looking at is both the spikes and the drops. And I know we're quite, operators are quite focused on the first 90 days, which is great, and that is a crucial time, but understanding that motivation changes over time. And, we do obsess over barriers and what stops people engaging, but I think we also need to obsess over enablers, like, why are some people sticking with it?”
[30:15] Future of the health & fitness sector
“But I think what excites me is that we're moving away from just getting people moving to keeping them moving. And I think that's where behavioral science gets to come to the fore.”
