The Hidden Sabotage of Social Support on Weight Loss
Family and loved ones may be hindering your attempts to lose weight, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. The research shows that not all social support leads to positive health outcomes, with actions such as sabotage, collusion, and being a feeder, contributing to unhealthy eating habits and obstructing weight control.
Sabotaging Weight Loss Efforts
Actively undermining the efforts of those trying to lose weight, sabotage often takes the form of discouraging healthy eating and putting up barriers to attending support groups. Such acts undermine an individual’s confidence and self-esteem, negatively affecting their attempts to lose weight. A person decides to lose weight for various reasons, but often these changes can create tension in their relationships with family and friends, who unconsciously or consciously try to derail attempts to preserve the status quo.
Collusion and Benefits of Social Support
Collusion or following the unhealthy behavior of someone you’re supporting is another form of negative social support. Family and friends may enable unhealthy eating behaviors while trying to be kind or show friendship, creating an unhealthy norm that sabotages the person’s weight loss efforts. However, social support can equally be beneficial in helping people to achieve their goals. Support from friends and family can be an invaluable tool in helping people to stick to good habits and attain their goals.
Findings of a Survey on Social Support and Weight Loss
A survey of 1,300 people who have attempted to lose weight discovered that 66% felt that the support from family, friends, and loved ones would help them reach their weight loss goals. However, only 30% said that their family and friends genuinely supported their efforts. The reality is that social support can be a double-edged sword that may either help or hinder an individual’s weight loss plan.
Interventions for Successful Weight Loss
Researchers suggest that interventions should address the negative effects of social support, ensuring that family and friends are trained to provide more positive reinforcement. Gently asking what type of support is needed to engineer healthy eating habits and encouraging a lifestyle that fosters healthy living can help those attempting to lose weight reach their goal. Being non-judgmental, compassionate, and exhibiting empathy can create an environment that fosters positivity and motivates people to reach their weight loss goals.
Conclusion
Weight loss can be an uphill task. However, social support can be a valuable resource for individuals trying to achieve weight loss goals. To reap the benefits of social support, families and loved ones need to provide positive, goal-oriented support while avoiding negative elements that may undermine the weight loss process. Interventions that aim to make individuals more aware of the negative consequences of particular actions and encourage positive reinforcement can lead to healthier eating habits and an overall healthier lifestyle.
Summary:
A new study from the University of Surrey reveals that social support from family and loved ones can undermine attempts to lose weight through acts of sabotage, discouraging healthy eating, and putting up barriers to attend support groups. A survey of 1,300 people who attempted to lose weight discovered that only 30% of their family and friends genuinely supported their efforts. Collusion – imitating the behavior of unhealthy eating from social groups can lead to sabotaged weight loss goals. However, gentle intervention or training of family and friends to provide positive reinforcement and support tailored to individual needs can help promote healthier living habits.
Exploring the Impacts of Sabotage on Weight Loss Goals
Despite the best intentions of those trying to help, social support can sometimes be a double-edged sword. In terms of weight loss, the power of social support cannot be underestimated. A study shows that people are more likely to engage in healthy eating habits when encouraged by family and friends. However, social support can also have negative effects, particularly in the context of sabotage, being a feeder, and collusion.
Sabotage: A Form of Negative Social Support
Sabotage arises from the actions of family and friends, where they actively oppose their loved one’s weight loss efforts. Such actions undermine the individual’s confidence and negatively affect their self-esteem, making it much harder to lose weight. Sabotaging behavior can manifest in various ways, such as discouraging healthy eating, offering unhealthy foods, or putting up barriers to attending support groups.
Sometimes social support that is meant to be helpful can ultimately be counterproductive. For instance, providing food when someone is not hungry or indulging in unhealthy eating habits can deter weight loss goals, leading to weight gain.
Collusion: Following Healthy Eating When Not in Line with an Individual’s Goals
Collusion, on the other hand, is a form of negative social support that entails following unhealthy behavior that goes against weight loss objectives. For example, a family member or friend giving in to unhealthy eating habits or indulging in overeating when the other person is trying to embrace a healthy lifestyle creates an unhealthy norm in the social circle. This can derail an individual’s weight loss goals and contribute to unhealthy eating habits.
The Importance of Positive Support
Training loved ones to provide more positive reinforcement can contribute significantly to fostering healthy eating habits and overall healthy living. Gently asking about the type of support an individual needs, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and fostering positivity through empathy, compassion, and positive feedback are all ways to provide positive support. This insightful approach can empower those attempting weight loss to maintain positivity and healthy living habits.
Conclusion
While social support can be a worthy resource for those attempting to lose weight, it can also create hurdles that prevent an individual from reaching their weight loss goals. Supportive social networks can empower, foster confidence, and make the process of weight loss easier. Conversely, negative social support can be counterproductive, creating a few issues and problems that affect healthy eating habits.
The key is to provide positive reinforcement and support tailored to individual needs that encourage healthy lifestyle choices to promote healthier living habits. By emphasizing interventions that target the negative elements contributing to unhealthy eating habits, individuals attempting weight loss can achieve their goals while promoting overall healthy living.
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Family and loved ones may be conspiring to sabotage your weight loss process, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. The study is part of a growing body of evidence suggesting that not all social support produces positive health outcomes.
Reviewing the literature in this area, the researchers found the downside of social support in the form of sabotage, eating behavior, and collusion, which undermine the attempts of those trying to lose weight. Surrey’s team found that acts of sabotage, discouraging healthy eating and putting up barriers to attending support groups, often undermined an individual’s confidence and self-esteem, negatively affecting their attempts to lose weight.
Jane Ogden, Professor of Health Psychology and lead author of the study from the University of Surrey, said:
“Weight loss often results in change, from giving a person more confidence to a change in the social dynamics of their relationships. Many do not accept these changes and may consciously or unconsciously try to derail attempts at a person to lose weight in order to keep things as they are.
“We need to explore this area further to develop interventions that could target family and friends and help them provide more support to help their loved ones lose weight.”
Closely related to sabotage, the researchers identified ‘being a feeder’ as a harmful form of social support. Although often done as a gesture of love or as a sign of wealth and status, researchers found that deliberately providing food when the person is not hungry or trying to eat less can be detrimental to weight control.
Interestingly, the researchers also identified collusion, which is often seen as a reflection of kindness and friendship, as a form of negative social support. Looking at a number of studies, the researchers found examples of family, friends and associates colluding with weight-loss attempts by ‘following’ their behavior when it’s not in line with their weight-loss goals.
Professor Ogden added:
“People pursue weight loss for any number of reasons, whether it’s for their overall health or to feel better about themselves. Support from friends and family can be an invaluable tool in helping people achieve their goals; however, Sometimes the people closest to you frustrate your efforts by tempting you with unhealthy foods or acting as a barrier to helping you adopt a healthier lifestyle.”
This research was published in Current reports of obesity.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230608121025.htm
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