The power of the mind

Thursday, January 17, 2008 by Dave Winer.

I heard a report on NPR a couple of weeks ago, and thought it was very interesting.  

A study of a group hotel maids found that even though they lead active lives, get lots of exercise, their health isn't good. High blood pressure, overweight, body-mass index, the usual signs of a sedentary life.  

They interviewed them, asking if they were active -- no. Did they get exercise? No. (The correct answer was yes to both.) 

So they formed two groups, with one group they did nothing, with the other they had a series of classes where they showed them how doing maid work compared to other forms of exercise. The kept going until they understood that they were active and living a healhty lifestyle. 

A few months later they checked blood pressure, weight, BMI and amazingly the group they had educated had become healthy!