Study: Support system works best when trying to lose weight

Study: Support system works best when trying to lose weight

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Many of us probably ate too much over Christmas, and now we may be wondering how to get rid of that holiday weight. A new study, funded in part by the National Institutes for Health, looked at three different ways to diet. The winner – Weight Watchers -- surprised even them.  

Researchers divided the dieters into three groups. One group dieted one-on-one with a health professional.  Others tried a group program where they have meetings and a support system. Weight Watchers is the largest program in the country so they picked that one. The last group did a combination - a few weeks of one-on-one work, then a few more weeks with Weight Watchers.

Which group do you think lost the most weight? Researchers anticipated the combo group would do the best, but they were wrong.

According to the research published in the journal Obesity, the dieters working one-on-one with a pro only lost 10 percent of their starting weight.  Dieters in the combo group lost 15 percent of their starting weight. The participants in the Weight Watchers program lost 37 percent of their starting weight. That is a huge difference

The point is, if you need to lose weight, a support system of peers seems to work best. So, If your new year's resolution is to lose some weight, do it! But you may want to grab a friend or two to join you.

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