Kids sometimes look as if they're glued to their cell phones. If they could only complete their homework as quickly as they can send text messages, they'd really be set. Even better: Maybe text messaging could also help them lose weight.

Researchers are actually questioning if text messaging could become a weight management tool. We already know that keeping a journal of weight loss or other health-related goals is a tried and true method. However, many people can't stick to journaling for the long-term because it can become tedious. A recent study followed three groups -- one that monitored health goals through text messaging, one that kept a paper journal, and one that didn't self-monitor progress at all. The study included children (ages 5-13) and their parents. The group reporting progress via text message had a lower attrition rate and had significantly greater adherence to self-monitoring.

I think keeping track of weight loss progress through text messaging is a great idea -- it's convenient and it could offer instant feedback. However, I question whether it's a good idea for children and teens. Weight loss is obviously the primary goal when a child or teen is obese, but another goal must be protecting/correcting the child's relationship with food and bolstering their self-esteem. Will reporting their progress through text messaging be motivating or demeaning? What do you think?

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Think of your cell phone as a diet coach, your quit-smoking partner, your own personal health manager. Really. Just sign up with these three companies and your cell phone will help you stay well.

INTELECARE
For $5 a month, text messages, e-mails, or voice mail reminders will alert you about prescriptions and appointments.

QUITEXT
If you wish to kick your smoking habit and have a spare $20, supportive tips and advice will come your way for six weeks.

SENSEI
You log your weight-loss goals and fitness habits and you'll get daily meal recommendations and weekly grocery shopping lists. Motivational notes too. All for $6 per week.

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Hooray! Fellow blogger,Jacki Donaldson just brought up a great subject. Using your phone to help you stay motivated works! I use text messages to harass my personal training clients, and I always receive feedback that they've inspired and kept the recipients in line when tempted to go to the dark (not-so-healthy) side.

Having said that, my brilliant colleague, Tracy Benham, is the mastermind behind TxtVox's Get Fit text messages. The girl is a sharp exercise physiologist and fitness trainer (we met getting our Master's Degrees in Exercise and Sports Sciences). Let her in your mind a couple of times a week ... and sooner rather than later ... your body will rockin'! The texts come twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, and are really just there to motivate, educate, and harass you like a personal trainer would.

Go to TxtVox.com. Find the All About Me section, and then check off the box Get Fit! And did I mention that it's free? Oh yes! It is. If you're someone who could use a bit of consistent motivation from a REAL-DEAL professional ... TxtVox.com Get Fit messages are the way to go.

It's become so common there's actually an acronym for it! Driving while texting, or "DWT," is becoming such as issue across the nation that not only are many state governments looking at passing laws to regulate (or ban altogether) using cell phones and other devices to send text messages while driving but insurance agencies are also getting in on it -- they could actually look at your phone records and refuse to pay a claim if they see that you were texting at the time of an accident.

What do you think, fair or not fair? I say fair. I'm guilty of popping out a few texts while sitting at stoplights, but that doesn't mean I think it's right. Truth is that when we text message while behind the wheel we're not paying as close attention to the road -- and that endangers everybody.

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Fast food is getting even faster, thanks to impatient consumers and electronic ordering.

One recent survey, cited in the November 2007 issue of Reader's Digest, found that 68 percent of people will not sit in a drive-through line for more than five minutes. That's why more and more restaurants are implementing electronic ordering options for those who want their food NOW.

Pizza chains are leading the pack with this electronic ordering trend. The folks at Pizza Hut report they get 30 electronic orders every minute, and their online ordering volume has increased sixfold in the past three years. Chipotle jumped on board in 2006 and saw a 40 percent increase in the first half of 2007. Some chains are even experimenting with text-messaged orders.

What ever could be next? Orders handled from outside call centers, maybe. Read more about this possibility here.

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