Prof. Ron Plotnikoff of the University of Alberta's Center for Health Promotion Studies and his colleagues studied the effects of the weekly e-mail reminders for 12 weeks.
People who were e-mailed tips promoting healthy behavior tended to increase their physical activity levels and lose weight.
More than 1,600 volunteers at five Canadian workplaces completed the study.
Those who received the tips did tend to exercise more. They also recognized more pros and fewer cons of physical activity, Plotnikoff's team reports in the July/August 2005 edition of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
They also reduced their body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight, compared to a control group of people who didn't receive the e-mails. In fact, those in the control tended to gain weight slightly during the three month study.
