Scientists identify weight loss ripple effect

Scientists identify weight loss ripple effect

Scientists identify weight loss ripple effect

People who try to lose weight aren't just helping themselves, they may be helping others too.

That's the finding of a new University of Connecticut study that monitored the weight loss improvement of 130 lovers over six months. The researchers found that when one person in a few commits to burning off weight, the chances were good the other partner would lose some weight too, even if they were not actively taking part in a weight loss involvement.

Inside the study, approximately one-third of the neglected partners lost 3 percent or even more of their primary body weight after six months despite not taking part in any active treatment. A three percent loss of body weight is known as a measurable health profit.

The study's business lead investigator, UConn Professor Amy Gorin, phone calls it a "ripple impact."

"When one individual changes their tendencies, the people around them change," says Gorin, a behavioral psychologist. "If the patient works together with their healthcare provider, joins a community-based, lifestyle procedure like Weight Watchers, or will try to lose weight on their own, their new healthy actions may benefit others in their lives."

The findings could add a new aspect to national guided weight loss programs that have typically targeted individuals seeking a wholesome lifestyle.

Health care providers and organizations dedicated to healthier lifestyles may wish to consider the weight loss ripple impact in their future assessments and treatment ideas, says Gorin, a professor of mental sciences, who's also associate director of UConn's Institute for Cooperation on Health, Intervention, and Coverage (InCHIP).

Whether a weight loss ripple effect might lengthen to another family who shares a household and not simply lovers remains to be seen. Gorin said that'll be the target of another analysis.

The study was funded by Weight Watchers International.