The Importance of Social Support to Achieve and Sustain Weight Loss

Obesity is a significant public health crisis.

Weight Watchers (now WW) was consistently ranked as the top weight loss program. Imagine the surprise of its members to find that their trusted program filed for bankruptcy.

Weight Watchers filed for bankruptcy to eliminate debt and to eliminate $1.15 billion in debt and focus on its transition into a telehealth services provider. They now offer a telehealth service that helps users get prescriptions for drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Trulicity. Judging by their reactions on Weight Watcher Facebook posts, many people feel betrayed by what they perceive as a push to take medications instead of applying tools and strategies to change their food intake.

WW stopped offering many in-person meetings after closing their studios in 2023 but adapted by offering virtual meetings and focusing on digital tools (think app and coaches) and weight-loss drugs. It’s difficult to definitively say whether average weight loss has decreased since dropping in-person meetings, as different factors can influence individual results. However, studies suggest that in-person meetings have been a strong predictor of weight loss success in the past. Studies have shown that people who attended Weight Watchers meetings, especially on a regular basis, experienced greater weight loss. The group support, shared experiences, and accountability provided by these meetings were often cited as major factors in helping members stay on track and achieve their weight loss goals.

Let’s examine this further. Social conditioning, social contagion, and sympathetic resonance all influence our success (or failure).

Social conditioning involves learning the rules, values, and beliefs of a society or group and then adopting them as our own. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear, says, “One of the most powerful drivers of habits and behavior change is the social environment. Our social group guides our behavior. We naturally soak up the habits of those around us. No matter what habits you desire to build, the key step is to join a group where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. New habits seem achievable when you see others doing them every day. Nothing sustains motivation better than belonging to the tribe. This is why remaining part of a group after achieving a goal is crucial to maintaining your habits.

Social contagion. Motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Research supports this idea. It suggests that your income, weight, habits, and even marital satisfaction can be influenced by the people you spend time with and your social connections. This influence is often referred to as social contagion, where behaviors, attitudes, and even physiological outcomes can spread within social networks. People may unconsciously imitate the eating habits and physical activity levels of those around them.

Sympathetic resonance, in the presence of another, can raise (or lower) our own vibration.

Playing a chord on one guitar can cause a nearby guitar to vibrate in the same chord due to sympathetic resonance. Imagine you play an open E major chord on one guitar. The vibrating strings of the first guitar can excite the corresponding strings on a nearby guitar, causing those strings to vibrate and produce the same chord, even without being actively strummed or picked.

Sympathetic resonance can apply to humans, specifically in the context of their physical and mental well-being, and even in how their senses and emotions interact. It’s a phenomenon where one entity’s vibration or rhythm influences another.

While not in-person, the online Weight Watcher program fosters a community where members can share their experiences, offer encouragement, and learn from each other in virtual groups and on social media.

However you choose to lose weight, choose your tribe carefully with these three “S’s” in mind. Social conditioning, social contagion, and sympathetic resonance. They will largely determine your long-term success.