World Diabetes Day

The 14^th of November is World Diabetes Day, and the NHS has introduced access to soup and shake diet plans to combat the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.

Research suggests that 55% of adults in the UK try to lose weight each year with 95% of diets expected to fail. However, those looking to lose weight may find more success when seeking support online. Research has shown that individuals who have social support are more likely to have better weight loss outcomes than those who do not. Social groups have been shown to influence food behaviours in individuals so engaging social support for dietary changes may have beneficial effects.

There are significant links between weight loss and a person’s level of social networking. Research has found that those with a larger online support group saw a body weight decrease of 6.8%, as opposed to those with no friends in the online community who only saw a decrease of 4.1% on average. This demonstrates a key link between strong online support groups and the ability to lose and keep off excess weight.

Aston spoke to personal weight loss expert and the founder of The New You Plan Julie-Ann Muldoon to tell us why having a strong support group will make you more likely to lose weight and keep it off.