Tired of fighting overweight, and the result of diets makes you wait too long? Use Twitter more often - it’s such a rather unusual, but, as it turned out, very effective way to speed up the process of losing weight, experts from Arnold University in South Carolina suggested. In their opinion, a social network can be a valuable means of motivation and support in losing weight, thanks to the ability to receive encouraging messages that our friends or relatives could send us.
As for the effectiveness of using Twitter in order to get rid of excess weight, on average it is this: the loss of 0.5% of the weight from reading 10 updates. The study, which underlies these findings, was attended by 96 overweight and obese men and women. All participants were divided into 2 groups. During the six-month study, each of them received two special audio recordings once a week, the total duration of which was 30 minutes during the first stage of scientific work and 10 minutes during the second. Each stage lasted 3 months. The information contained in the audio recordings was devoted to the topics of healthy eating and physical activity. In addition to them, members of one of the groups installed an application on their phones that allows you to look at Twitter. All of them were invited to visit the social network site twice a day and read two daily motivating and encouraging messages written by a specialist in the field of weight loss.
After six months, scientists compared the results achieved by both groups, and found that participants using Twitter were able to get rid of a significantly larger number of extra pounds than representatives of the other team.
The authors of the study in the report said: “Everyday outside interference in the life of a person who is struggling with overweight certainly provides him with tangible support, which sometimes plays a rather significant role in the success of his undertaking. Twitter is a great way to cheer people up, giving them strength and faith in yourself. "
A similar effect, of course, will have and participation in weight loss groups on Internet forums.
