Trying to lose a little weight? Diet with a partner

‘People around them change’

BEING in a relationship with someone who is going to a slimming class or dieting can help you lose weight, say researchers. When one member of a couple starts eating healthily and watching their weight, the other appears to benefit from the change in lifestyle.

Academics at the University of Connecticut tracked the weight of 130 couples over six months, in which just one person had been given a weight loss strategy. Their partners slimmed down at the same time, losing approximately 3 per cent of their body weight.

Lead author Professor Amy Gorin, a behavioural psychologist, said there had been a ‘ripple effect’, adding: ‘When one person changes their behaviour, the people around them change.’

About a third of the partners lost weight after six months, despite not actively slimming themselves.

The couples were divided into two groups, with one partner in each pair either enrolled in slimming classes or given a leaflet containing advice on how to lose weight.

In both groups the person not trying to slim also did so. The partners lost an average of 3lb after three months and 4.5lb after six months.

Their weight loss did not substantially vary based on whether their partner was using the leaflet or attending slimming classes.

The study, published in the journal Obesity and funded by Weight Watchers, also found that the people enrolled in six months of slimming classes lost 9.5lb on average, while their partners lost an average of 4.8lb.

Those given the leaflet lost an average of 6.8lb, while their partners lost 4.1lb.