Weight gain criticism may cause more weight gain

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Well-meaning family members who are critical of a relative’s weight could be doing more harm than good, new research suggests.
The study, which appears in the December edition of the journal Personal Relationships, specifically looked at women. It found that those who received a higher number of “acceptance messages” about their weight were better able to maintain it or even drop a few pounds versus those who did not receive positive messages from those closest to them.
“We all know someone who points out our weight gain or offers to help us lose weight. Our results suggest that these comments are misguided,” said lead author Christine Logel, a professor from Renison University College at the University of Waterloo.
She explained that feeling pressure from loved ones about losing weight was not helpful for women that already had concerns about their bodies. In fact, it even caused some women that did not already have weight-related worries to even pack on a few extra pounds.
“When we feel bad about our bodies, we often turn to loved ones – families, friends, and romantic partners – for support and advice,” she added. “How they respond can have a bigger effect than we might think.”
Logel and her colleagues studied university-age women, a demographic they claim is often dissatisfied with personal weight. They asked each subject about their height and weight, as well as their feelings about what they saw when they stepped on the scale.
Five months later, they asked if they had addressed their weight-related concerns with their families, and if so, what response they had received. Approximately three more months later, they tracked changes to both the women’s weight and their concerns about it.
“On average, the women in the study were at the high end of Health Canada’s BMI recommendations, so the healthiest thing is for them to maintain the weight they have and not be so hard on themselves,” Logel said. “But many of the women were still very concerned about how much they weigh, and most talked to their loved ones about it.”
Overall, the women that took part in the study gained weight, but those that received positive feedback from their families maintained or even lost a small amount of weight. In comparison, those receiving fewer acceptance messages gained an average of 4.5 pounds.
“When women concerned about their weight heard that their loved ones accepted them as they are, they felt better about their bodies and subsequently they did not gain like other women did,” the researchers said in a statement. “The research suggests that feeling better about themselves caused the women to be more active or eat more sensibly. Receiving unconditional acceptance might have lowered their stress, a known cause of weight gain.”
“Lots of research finds that social support improves our health,” Logel added. “An important part of social support is feeling that our loved ones accept us just the way we are.”
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