Have you ever been inspired to make a positive health or weight loss change in your life after seeing the progress of someone you know? It's more common than you might think. A new study from Brown University and the Miriam Hospital and Alpert Medical School has found weight loss is actually "contagious" – after a fashion.
Similar to the way we value word-of-mouth recommendations from our friends higher than online reviews for the best treadmill, seeing our friends make positive changes can inspire us to achieve those changes for ourselves.
The researchers from Brown sought to study this phenomenon by looking at the progress of weight loss "teams" versus individual participants. Both groups achieved similar weight loss outcomes, but the study found "participants who said their teammates played a large role in their weight loss actually lost the most weight".
The message is clear: people who lose weight together and actively encourage each other do better than individuals.
"We know that obesity can be socially contagious, but now we know that social networks play a significant role in weight loss as well, particularly team-based weight loss competitions," said lead author Tricia Leahey, Ph.D..
"In our study, weight loss clearly clustered within teams, which suggests that teammates influenced each other, perhaps by providing accountability, setting expectations of weight loss, and providing encouragement and support."
It might seem like a challenge, given the current global health crisis making it difficult for households to meet. However, some of the best online personal trainer and fitness apps offer online group classes, allowing people from all over the world to work out together at the same time. if you can't go to the gym, bring the gym to you.
If you've got a group of friends looking to get fit in 2021, a Whatsapp or Discord group will also help. It creates a positive platform for the group to encourage, push and continue to challenge each other. It's a perfect way to implement the team-based social influence from the Brown study.
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