Weight Loss Is Contagious, New ShapeUp Study Shows
ShapeUp Founder Dr. Rajiv Kumar Co-Authors Groundbreaking Study Showing That Weight Loss Spreads Within ShapeUp’s Team-Based Corporate Wellness Program
Research about how social networks influence health and wellness has taken a major step forward with the release of a new study, “Teammates and social influence affect weight loss outcomes in a team-based weight loss competition,” co-authored by Drs. Tricia Leahey and Rena Wing from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and by ShapeUp founders Drs. Rajiv Kumar and Brad Weinberg.
The study is based on results from the statewide, team-based, employer-sponsored wellness campaign called Shape Up Rhode Island, which is powered by ShapeUp Inc.’s proprietary technology platform. The researchers analyzed the weight loss outcomes of 987 teams made up of 3,330 program participants, the majority of whom were sponsored to participate through their employer’s corporate wellness program. The findings provide further proof that health-related behaviors spread within social networks and that understanding the dynamics of peer-to-peer relationships is critical to successful health promotion efforts.
The study’s results show that overweight or obese participants who completed the twelve-week program, which took the form of a weight loss and exercise competition, lost an average of 4.2% of their initial body weight. The researchers learned that when an individual had a higher number of team members who also had a goal to lose weight, overall weight loss outcomes were improved. The study also showed that people who reported that their team members influenced their weight were more likely to lose weight. In addition, the achievement of clinically significant (5%) weight loss tended to cluster within teams. In other words, participants were more likely to lose weight when their team members were also losing weight. Based on these findings, the study authors have concluded that harnessing and maximizing influence within social networks may provide the key to enhancing behavior change and healthy outcomes in large-scale population health interventions.
“This is the first study of its kind to show that weight loss spreads from one person to another in a wellness program. Given that the majority of participants were participating in this study as part of their company’s internal wellness program, this has huge implications for employers who run corporate wellness programs to improve employee health,” said Dr. Rajiv Kumar, founder and chief medical officer of ShapeUp. “We’ve always held the belief that trusted social networks are critical to healthy behavior change, and this study provides further concrete evidence that this is true.”
All participants in the study utilized ShapeUp’s online employee wellness platform, which provides the tools and social support needed for individuals to make sustainable, healthy behavior change. The platform’s mobile, SMS, and web-based tracking interface allows participants to set goals, track their progress, earn rewards, and compare results with their colleagues. Embedded social networking and gaming tools give participants the opportunity to form teams and join fun, healthy competitions at work.
To read more about the study, visit: http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/naam/abs/oby201218a.html
About ShapeUp
ShapeUp is the leading global provider of clinically-proven, social networking-based employee wellness programs. Founded in 2006 by two medical doctors, ShapeUp has pioneered an innovative approach to behavior change that uses social networking technology to reduce healthcare costs and improve the health of large populations. ShapeUp’s evidence-based, clinically-proven social wellness platform covers more than two million lives and is used by more than 200 employers and health plans. For more information, visit http://www.shapeup.com and follow us on Twitter.
