“KiActiv® Health has given me a sort of boost – a real ‘lets do it!’ Do everything! Get healthy! It’s helped my depression and my psychologist has said it’s made me get out more into the outside world, which has massively improved my mental health.”
Veronica, 71, Clinical Depression
Here are Veronica’s thoughts on KiActiv® Health
“I’ve just been so thrilled with it. A couple of friends used to wear a band around their waist at the gym which never appealed to me. They were always moaning that it didn’t measure what it was meant to measure but this, this has been brilliant. I’d get pictures from my friends of how many steps they’ve done. It was ok for measuring what they were doing at the gym but it gave them no real information about what they were doing outside the gym. For me, I spend most of my time doing stuff at home, so that wouldn’t register any of that whereas with KiActiv® Health, all movement matters.”
Veronica’s Story
Veronica approached the programme with a positive attitude, saying that she was “really looking forward to this”. She was referred for diabetes management but had also been diagnosed with clinical depression and was undergoing psychotherapy.
During the programme, she was finding ways to minimise her sedentary time, such as walking the long way round whilst going in for healthcare appointments and pacing around outside while she waits. She also commented that she had arranged to meet her friends to go on a walk, instead of sitting down for a coffee. She was also actively eating healthier and cutting out sweets. Veronica commented on how much the programme had helped her to manage and improve her activity levels, and in turn, how getting out, about and moving around more on a day-to-day basis had massively improved her depression and general wellbeing.
After the programme, Veronica said that she was experiencing fewer depressive dips thanks to being more physically active, and mentioned how the programme had prompted her to get out of the house more often. She was no longer classified as ‘at risk’ in her depression scores and was feeling “really great”.
Veronica made significant improvements across 3 dimensions of physical activity. Notably, Veronica increased her non sedentary time by 8% and her moderate bouts improved by 14% on average. Although the changes may not seem large, it was enough for Veronica to see benefits to her depressive symptoms and overall mood.
She continued to wear the Band and engage with her personalised online dashboard after her Mentor sessions had been completed. She managed to maintain similar levels of physical activity after the programme as she had during, demonstrating that she now has the capacity to successfully self-manage her activity in the long-term.
Veronica completed an evaluation form at the end of the 12-week programme. She was highly positive about her experience. When asked if she was confident, she could manage her Type 2 Diabetes and overall health now and in the future, she responded with ‘Strongly Agree’.
She commented: “It’s made me take more notice of my Type 2 Diabetes and being better about my diet. Being on this, I have given up the sweets and started eating a more sensible diet. This has given me a boost; let’s go for it, do everything, get healthy. It’s helped my depression. My psychologist has said it’s made me get out more into the outside world, which has massively improved my mental health.”
