SHAPE UP
Lose weight with a little help from friends and family

By Charles Stuart Platkin

Baiju Panicker, of Troy, Mich., does a strenuous hamstring exercise with his feet held by Kathy Vargo of Royal Oak, Mich. The key to successful weight loss, experts say, can be having the support of the people around you. Gannett News Service

At first, I thought it was basically asking people you know to act like the "food police" — watching your every move to make sure you stick to your diet — although that never seemed to work for me. If someone in my family told me not to eat something, that was all the more reason to show my independence and shove that doughnut down in two defiant bites.

In actuality, social support means the opposite. It's having your family, friends or community facilitate you — to help yourself lose weight.

Essentially, there are two types of group support. Research has shown that we can benefit from participating in an organized social support group (i.e., self-help groups such as meetings at churches, community halls, or even commercial weight loss centers), and by having the support of family and friends.

In fact, Philadelphia is a great example of how providing social support led to weight loss for participating residents. About three years ago, Mayor John Street set up a health and fitness initiative in response to Philadelphia being named "America's Fattest City" by a national magazine.

Philadelphia's "Health and Fitness Czar," Gwen Foster, created "Fun, Fit and Free," a citywide program focusing on group support as its primary mission. Her concept, "We are all stronger, smarter, and richer than one of us," was the driving force behind the program. With the backing of the mayor (who at one time weighed in at 300 pounds), Foster's office set up more than 200 social support group centers in hospitals, churches, synagogues, and even at City Hall.

According to Foster, the average participant successfully lost 5.3 pounds.

Locally, Shape Up Across Hawaii is a statewide program that challenges individuals, families and communities to complete a 400-mile virtual journey across the state by walking, surfing, biking or doing anything active. The program runs through October. For details, visit www.shapeuphawaii.org or call 545-6003.

Nationally, Timothy Patton, professor of public health at Florida International University, reports that support from a community can provide many psychosocial advantages including:

• Emotional sharing: It provides a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen.
• Empowerment, encouragement and motivation: A group is more than just the sum of its parts — 1 plus 1 equals 3. Group members can be more successful together.
• Mentoring, problem-solving and coaching: It helps to talk to people who have been through it.
• Networking and sharing of information: People in a support system can tell each other about what's new — a new diet book, a healthy recipe, etc.

Now what about support from family and friends?

Well, imagine trying to lose weight while your husband, wife, family or friends are constantly trying to get you to eat fattening things. They may try to convince you, "It's OK to eat that — it's your birthday, anniversary, the weekend (or any excuse)."

Or perhaps they keep telling you, "You're fine just the way you are," and don't need to lose weight. Your so-called "support group" may not want to see you "suffer" through yet another diet. They may even be trying to sabotage your efforts because they are jealous of your newfound goal.

On the other hand, study after study has shown how solid family and social networks can positively influence your health.

It's not a leap of faith to infer that strong support from family and friends brings "an increase in self-confidence by validating the individual's choice to lose weight, a reduction in overall stress, and increased attention to achieving the overall goal," says New York City nutritionist Shira Isenberg.

In fact, having a weight loss "buddy" can help in the battle of the bulge. A study authored by Rena R. Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, found that friends who followed a weight loss program together lost more weight and were more likely to complete their diet program and maintain their weight loss.

Among those in the study who dieted alone, 76 percent completed their program and 24 percent maintained their weight loss during the 4- to 10-month study period. However, of the group that dieted with the support of friends, 95 percent completed their program and 66 percent kept the weight off.

So what should you do?

• Get organized: Look for organized meetings in your area that discuss and share weight loss issues.
• Get "them" to join: Without nagging, try to encourage friends and family to eat healthier.
• Pitch in: At home, offer to help out with shopping for healthier foods and planning lower calorie menus.
• Make new friends: It wouldn't hurt to make new friends that are health and fitness conscious.
• Get online: Look on the Internet — there are many organized, high-quality message boards with free group support.
• Buddy up: Try to find your own weight-loss buddy at a gym, community, or church group.
• Prepare in advance: If your friends and family recommend eating at fast food restaurants, be ready to order healthier options these places may offer.
• Keep the family peace: Sit down with your family and discuss with them, using reason, why it's critical for you to lose weight. It'll make them more supportive.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a syndicated health, nutrition, and fitness columnist.