London - Friends who slim together have more chance of staying thin for longer, according to a new report yesterday.
A survey in the UK, backed up by research in the US, has revealed that women who diet alone have only a one in five chance of keeping the kilograms off for a month or more.
However, those slimming with friends have at least a one in three chance of continuing to stick to a diet and keeping the weight off for four weeks or longer.
A survey found that just over 40 percent of female dieters said when they attempted to lose weight alone, they gave up on average after seven days. A further 22 percent said they lasted a fortnight before succumbing to temptation.
But 71 percent of those questioned said they were more likely to lose weight and stick to a healthy eating programme for longer when joining with friends, rather than dieting alone.
The survey of 2 000 women who have dieted with friends also found that people lose more weight by slimming with pals than on their own.
When looking at a weight loss of over 4kg, 15 percent more people said they achieved this when dieting with friends, than when dieting by themselves.
Half of all women (50 percent) polled also said that they didn’t want to let their friend down, so were less likely to give in or cheat than when they were dieting on their own. Just under half said they found the support of weighing in together helpful in achieving their weight-loss goal.
Almost seven in 10 women who had dieted both with friends and alone said a plan was easier to stick to if they could discuss aspects of it with a weight-loss buddy.
The most important areas for discussion were: how they’re feeling, how to increase exercise, meal planning, how to avoid temptation and what they’ll do when they lose the weight.
Women also admitted to experiencing a touch of the green- eyed monster when a friend loses weight; almost 40 percent of those questioned confessed to feeling envious about a friend’s weight loss.
This envy can also prove to be motivating though, as over 64 percent claimed to have been inspired to lose weight after a friend had done so.
When asked why a friend’s success at shedding the weight was inspirational, two-thirds (60 percent) said that seeing a mate lose weight made them realise that they could do it too, while almost half said it was because they feared being seen as the “fat friend”.
Angharad Massie, a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, who conducted the survey, said: “We think it is quite significant that this research indicates that losing weight with friends or family will help you make a long-term lifestyle change – 72 percent of women feel that healthy eating is more likely to become a way of life if their friends are doing it too.
“This demonstrates the power of group support where you can talk about experiences and share ideas to stay motivated. It re-inforces the fact that you lose significantly more weight than people who try to lose weight on their own. When it comes to losing weight, doing it together is better,” she said. - Daily Mail
The top five qualities for a weight-loss buddy
1Someone who is reliable and won’t give up
2Someone who will exercise with you
3Someone who will be tough on you if you give in to temptation
4Someone who lives near to you
5Someone who you can celebrate with when you succeed.