The study was carried out by researchers from the University of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina, and the results were published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Translational Behavioural Medicine. For the study, 96 overweight and obese men and women, who owned either an internet-accessing iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry or an Android-OS-based phone, were randomised into one of two groups. Group one were given regular weight loss-encouraging podcasts, and group two, on top of these podcasts, were told to download a diet and physical activity monitoring app and a Twitter app. In order to receive content delivered by a weight loss counsellor and fellow participants, group two were told to log on to Twitter daily to read and post messages. Twice a day, the counsellor tweeted in order to reinforce messages from the podcasts and to stimulate discussion.
The results showed that at six months, for every 10 posts on Twitter (or tweets) people lost 0.5% more weight. Though there was no difference in weight loss between people who had access to Twitter and those who did not, there was a difference between Twitter users themselves. Those who tweeted the most were more likely to lose weight than those who read messages on Twitter but rarely, or never, tweeted themselves (these people are known as ‘Lurkers’).
The reason for this could be that social networks potentially act as a kind of virtual slimming club. These clubs have been proven to help people achieve and manage weight loss, because of their supportive social environment. It’s always easier when you do things together, so perhaps Twitter offers a way for people to constantly connect and keep each other going, though more refinement of the programme and further research is needed.
The study highlights the potential for social media to help provide support for people who want to lose weight, but it is limited by the fact that it was a small sub-analysis of a larger randomised trial and there was no randomisation in the study’s design. Therefore, you should view its findings with caution.