It is popularly believed that being obese and overweight is essentially a physical problem and all the factors influencing the weight and losing an excess of it are essentially physical. However, it needs to be understood that it is not only a physical issue but also has certain psychological factors which include support from an individual’s social group involved. So the question is, can social support help an individual in losing weight?
Do You Need Social Support To Lose Weight?
Contents
Keeping body weight in check is much important in ensuring a healthy life, and a healthy body free of risk of various types of diseases including high blood pressure, heart diseases, and diabetes. In addition to dieting, workouts, exercise, and various other forms of weight loss measures, enjoyment of social support from peers can be of much importance in losing excess weight.
Psychological factors such as social support have a chief role in determining and influencing an individual’s ability to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight. Emotional support from an individual’s social group is an important psychological factor that plays a chief role in influencing the maintenance of a healthy weight or successfully losing excess weight.
Lack of social support from peer groups can lead to an increased level of stress and anxiety as well as a decreased willingness of engaging in physical activities, both of which can lead to weight gain and stand in the way of losing weight.
How Can Social Support Help In Losing Weight?
The following are how social support helps in losing weight and achievement of weight loss goals set by the individuals.
1. Increased and Strengthened Determination
An individual feels strengthened and determined to achieve the weight loss goals set by him if he is ensured that his peers and surrounding social support him both mentally and physically is the weight loss process.
2. Social Support also adds Accountability
One of the chief reasons why most people fail in losing weight is the lack of accountability to anyone. It is quite natural that a process such as weight loss, which can take weeks and months for success can become boring and tedious day by day, and laziness takes its place.
Social supports from peer groups and social relations make the individual accountable to such social groups psychologically in terms of achievement of desired results in the return of the trust and support that the social groups have provided to such individuals in the weight loss process.
3. Getting Motivation and Encouragement to lose weight
While it cannot be pinpointed as to how and why social support is such value in the weight loss process, it is widely recognized by individuals themselves as well as experts and medicos that the inclusion of such social groups as peers, friends, and family in weight loss process can be highly effective.
Emotional support and motivation in terms of encouragement from peers and family to someone to provide company to the individual during the weight loss exercises like jogging, running, swimming, or going to the gym can motivate him in do so
4. Social Support can also be helping maintain a healthy lifestyle and food habits
During the weight loss process, the social groups surrounding an individual play an important role in determining whether he can maintain a healthy lifestyle or proper food habits and remain away from weight gaining lifestyle and food habits. If the peers and social relation, instead of supporting the individual, continuously force him towards adopting a sedentary lifestyle and engage often in eating fatty and sugary foods.
As such, this can cause a major hurdle in successfully losing weight. Support from peer and social groups can help an individual prevent himself from getting distracted from his weight loss goals and thereby, successfully losing required weight.
Conclusion
Social support and peer relations have an enduring and beneficial association with an individual’s good health. In the company of a social group which could include friends, colleagues, neighbors, or family, an individual feels much relieved from stress and anxiety which in turn is much supportive in maintaining good health. Such social support can also be much beneficial in successfully losing weight and achieving weight loss goals.
Lacey Arlo is a wellness expert and a nutritionist who aims to help members with health and diet queries. Lacey Arlo has worked with junior, national, and Olympic-level athletes by providing them with customizing programmers, supplement strategies, and support during their travel and competition. From weight management, PCOD, thyroid-related weight loss, and nutrition for children to diets for pregnant and diets for senior citizens, She offers nutrition-aided solutions for different age groups with consideration for each person’s unique health demands.