Why ‘Control Groups’ Lose Weight, According to New Study

A fascinating review came out of Nature that scoured over 22 weight-loss studies with over 4,000 participants (from over a dozen countries).

But here’s the kicker:

They looked at the control groups in all these studies. The groups that did not get the treatment or intervention (or if they did it was standard care).

What kind of results did they get?

Turns out, they lose on average 0.41kg (or .9 pounds).

Now that might not be something to write Grandma about but that is impressive given that a huge percentage of the population struggle to lose any weight (and ends up packing on more each year).

So why did they get any results?

The researchers chalk up the following two reasons:
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• Trial Effect: This where just by participating in a study, you reap benefits. This is believed to be due to greater adherence… lifestyle medication… and greater interaction with health professionals through the process.
• Hawthorne Effect: This is a well-researched phenomenon that happens when participants believe they are being observed, they tend to modify their behavior.

Moral of the study:

It’s a reminder to take action.

Even if you don’t have the pur-fect plan (like these control groups), keep moving. Keep seeing what works and adjusting your approach because through your repeated efforts you are bound to get some results and eventually find your way to a methodology that works extremely well.

But it takes getting starting no matter how imperfect the first step is. And maybe instead of putting our full faith on a particular weight-loss program we need to believe in ourselves and our ability to figure it out.

Onward,

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