What is Weight Management?
- The Science Behind Community and Support Groups
- How a Community Can Help With Weight and Obesity Management
- Conclusion
How Weight Management Groups and Community Can Help You
Like any lifelong pursuit, weight management and weight loss treatment is something that can be smoother, more satisfying, and more successful with peer support. Anyone on the path to health knows that it takes consistency and accountability. That’s exactly why having a weight management community backing you can be so important. Read along to discover if group support is the element missing from your long-term plan for weight management.
Understanding the Journey: What Is Weight Management?
Weight management is simply the process of seeking to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. A commitment to weight management can play a critical role in improving overall health and well-being. For many, it also offers protective benefits against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, and other health risks associated with obesity. While weight management can create positive and lasting physical changes, it’s important not to overlook the emotional and psychological components of sticking to a plan for healthy eating and exercise.
Motivation, encouragement, and a sense of belonging to a community sharing the same goal can all help to relieve some of the emotional burdens that go along with staying consistent with a lifestyle plan when factors like boredom, stress, and temptation from people in your inner circle create challenges.
The Science Behind Community and Support Groups
Several studies have shown links between support groups and sustained weight-loss goals. A 2021 study on the effect of peer support on overweight or obese individuals found that peer support appears to be associated with decreased weight and BMI (body mass index) levels. As part of the study’s results, researchers found significant improvement in weight in individuals who received peer support compared to those who received usual care.
A 2020 study looking at the impact of peer support groups for weight loss found that social support contributes to successful weight loss and long-term weight loss maintenance. Participants in this particular study reported that peer support was critical to their ability to stay on track.
How a Community Can Help With Weight and Obesity Management
The community aspect of weight loss and obesity management comes down to old-fashioned human connection. While nobody can do the hard work for another person, peer support can lighten the burden of committing to a health journey. Here are some of the ways that community makes reaching and sustaining weight goals more realistic:
- Emotional Support: Having a group to turn to whether you’re feeling defeated or celebrating a success makes the journey more satisfying. It can also provide an outlet that’s different from a default pattern of turning to food for relief or connection.
- Information Sharing: A weight-loss community can be an incredible resource for learning about tips and strategies for healthy living and getting over humps.
- Accountability: A community creates a sense of obligation. When we know we won’t just be letting ourselves down when we veer off the course, there is a greater sense of purpose and determination.
- Motivation: A pep talk goes a long way when the road in front of us seems hard!
- Comradery: Many people struggling with weight loss don’t have family members or close friends who share the same struggle. As a result, they may constantly be placed in situations at home or work where the people around them don’t understand. Being expected to lose weight on someone else’s timeline or constantly feeling judged about your choices can be disheartening. After feeling isolated in daily life, having the ability to connect with people in a weight loss support group who understand the unique challenges of obesity is comforting and refreshing.
A Weight Management Community Makes the Journey Easier
Isolation can be the enemy of successful weight management. When we tap into the benefits of community, we are free to see that we aren’t actually alone on this walk. Are you wondering how to join a weight loss support group? Obesity Matters offers an inclusive community featuring workshops, information, obesity resources, and peer support.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.
