Researchers based at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, conducted a two-year weight loss trial among 344 African-American men and women.
The weight loss programme included counselling on the importance of a healthy diet, physical activity, group sessions involving weight and activity checks and distribution of pedometers--electronic device which senses one's body motion and counts his/her footsteps.
The aim of the trial was to ensure that the subjects attempt to lose atleast 5 to 10 percent weight during the study period.
Of the 344 subjects, 63 subjects were enrolled individually and 281 were enrolled with a friend or a family member.
Participants divided into three groups
The subjects were randomly split in three groups—those who were to train alone, those who had a partner assigned to a high-support group and others who also had a participant but assigned to a low-support group.
Their performance was to be measured at intervals of six, 12, 18 and 24 months.
Participants in the high-support group were required to attend and participate fully in all the training sessions. Whereas certain components of the training programme were restricted for those in the low-support group.
Those with a partner found to lose more weight
After the two-year trial, it was found those with a partner, especially in the high-support group, lost around 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds) than their counterparts.
However, the researchers noted that enrolling with a partner was linked with greater loss only when partners were fully invloved and lost more weight.
Depending on the partners' progress, participants in both high-low support groups were able to lose more than 5 percent weight during all the measurement periods.
Professor Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine said, "We evaluated family and friend social support as a specific cultural adaptation strategy.
"Beneficial effects on weight loss were linked to actual rather than assigned partner participation and to partner success in losing weight.
"Further studies may elucidate ways to facilitate effective family or friend participation and to improve absolute weight losses."
The findings of the study appear in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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