Can social media help you lose weight?

MANILA, Philippines – We’re all familiar with the stereotype of the fat, lazy person fused in front of a computer all day, the kind who’d prefer being active in the online world than in the real one. To an extent, it does make sense: losing weight requires actual and consistent physical activity. However, a paper published on Monday, September 8 argues that social media and weight loss can go hand in hand. 

Researchers from the Imperial College of London analyzed 12 different studies from the US, Europe, East Asia, and Australia that involved using social media for weight loss, and discovered that subjects who used social media weight loss services and communities collectively decreased their Body Mass Index (BMI) by .64. While the decrease is modest, the paper’s authors still consider it a significant change. 

Published in the journal Health Affairs, the paper was written for the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation. The summit was held to discuss serious global health issues, including obesity. Present in both developing and developed countries, obesity can lead to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health problems, and can in turn make health services more costly. 

“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,” says health policy researcher and surgeon Dr Hutan Ashrafian, who helmed the paper.

“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,” Ashrafian said.

He also admits that privacy issues can arise, and that patients will need to be Internet-savvy. He recommends further research on the area. 

“The use of social media to treat obesity encourages patients to be more pro-active and empowers them to contribute towards 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.”

Do you have trouble keeping yourself at a healthy weight? Why not take a page from their analysis and use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to monitor your progress? Healthy diet and regular exercise is always the key, but getting support and advice from your social networks can do a world of good, too! – Rappler.com

Has social media helped you to stay healthy? Share your insights with us in the comments section below!