Peer Support Groups for Weight Loss

Abstract

Purpose of Review Social support, especially from peers, has been found to contribute to successful weight loss and long-term weight loss maintenance. Peer support groups may represent a particularly effective intervention technique for weight loss. This review focuses upon peer support weight loss interventions with the objective of identifying common elements of successful programs. Recent Findings Peer support interventions often consist of expert-led educational content, supplemented by peer-led activities or discussion. Peer groups may provide support to individuals who have little social support in their normal lives. Interventions are often designed for pre-existing groups, especially high-risk groups such as women from ethnic minorities. Men are underrepresented in weight loss programs and often perceive "dieting" as feminine. However, several peer programs for male sports fans have successfully resulted in weight loss and fostering support for healthy lifestyle among male peers. In addition to professionally created peer support groups, many online weight loss communities are created and moderated by peers. Online communities allow participants to share peer support similar to in-person formats. Summary Many peer support interventions show significant short-term weight loss. Group members frequently report that peer support was critical to their weight loss success. A sense of community among likeminded individuals with similar goals was frequently cited. Online peer support groups are becoming increasingly prevalent, may fulfill similar needs to in-person groups, and have additional advantages in accessibility, and access to a larger peer network, and may facilitate long-term adherence.

Group versus one‐to‐one multi‐component lifestyle interventions for weight management: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised controlled trials

“…Social support, especially from peers, contributes to successful weight loss and long-term weight loss maintenance. 36 Empathy, role modelling, accountability and problem solving accompany the social support offered in group settings by peers and are important factors for lifestyle change and weight loss. 37,38 On the other hand, the group interventions included in the present study provided more hours of contact per participant (range of 12-55 h) compared to one-to-one interventions (range of 2.5-11 hours).…”

“…Social support, especially from peers, contributes to successful weight loss and long‐term weight loss maintenance 36 . Empathy, role modelling, accountability and problem solving accompany the social support offered in group settings by peers and are important factors for lifestyle change and weight loss 37,38 …”

A Review of Telemedicine Interventions for Weight Loss

“…While less common, a few telemedicine interventions utilize a peer group format, allowing trained peer facilitators to lead group education and discussion sections [ 18 ]. Peer support groups for weight loss have a number of advantages, including providing social support for isolated members, increased credibility of peer facilitators who are seen as “part of the group,” and fostering a sense of community among members [ 19 ]. This may be especially important for subpopulations who do not receive social support for weight loss among their family and friends.…”

“…For example, men have rates of obesity comparable to those of women [ 20 ], but only 27% of weight loss study participants are male, and only 4% of weight loss trials are all male. Men tend to view activities such as dieting as feminine and perceive little social support for weight loss from their male friends [ 19 ]. During interviews about social support for weight loss with men who had previously undergone weight loss surgery, many reported feeling a stigma to seeking weight loss counseling, as well as isolation during overwhelmingly female weight loss support groups [ 21 ].…”

Online support for all: Examining participant characteristics, engagement, and perceived benefits of an online harm reduction, abstinence, and moderation focused support group for alcohol and other drugs

“…This transition has occurred partly out of necessity to extend the reach of treatment services in large rural countries (e.g., Russia; Lyytikäinen, 2017) and these efforts have been hastened globally as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (Bergman et al, 2021). Although little is known regarding the effects of meeting in-person compared to online, online social groups have emerged as a low-cost, easily accessible, and beneficial resource for a wide-range of challenges (Maher et al, 2014) including depression (Breuer & Barker, 2015), grief (Varga & Paulus, 2013), weight loss maintenance (Ufholz, 2020), physical activity (Foster et al, 2010), smoking (Shahab & McEwen, 2009), and substance misuse (Bergman et al, 2017). Bergman and colleagues (2017) examined the impact of a recovery-and abstinencefocused online social networking site.…”