Social networking can help people lose weight, a new study shows.
Researchers at the Imperial College London said that certain social networking programs help people shed those extra kilos.
For the study, the researchers examined data of 12 global studies that experimented with social networking services for weight loss. In all 1,884 participants were involved in the study. The findings showed that people who used these services achieved a collective decrease in body mass index by a value of 0.64. This, according to the researchers, is modest but significant.
"One advantage of using social media over other methods is that it offers the potential to be much more cost effective and practical for day-to-day use when compared to traditional approaches. The feeling of being part of a community allows patients to draw on the support of their peers as well as clinicians. They can get advice from their doctor without the inconvenience or cost of having to travel, and clinicians can provide advice to many patients simultaneously," Health policy researcher and surgeon Dr. Hutan Ashrafian, the lead author of the study at the Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, said in a press release.
Dr. Ashrafian explained that the social media as a method to treat obesity encourages patients to be more pro-active. Not only this, it also empowers them to contribute toward their own treatment. "It's not the only solution to the obesity epidemic, but it should be introduced as an element of every country's obesity strategy," Dr. Ashrafian said.
However, there are certain drawbacks to this. Ashrafian also said there are privacy issues and a patient needs to be internet savvy, so it may not be right for everyone.
"The studies we looked at were the first to investigate social media approaches to obesity. There needs to be more research into this area to see what approaches work best for which patients in light of the dramatic global adoption of social media tools and content."
The research was published in the journal Health Affairs.
