My Overweight Child: Weight-Loss Self Control Can Be 'Contagious'

Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Monday, February 01, 2010

Weight-Loss Self Control Can Be 'Contagious'

Previous academic studies have shown that if you associate with overweight people, you are more likely to become overweight yourself, especially if you eat together often.

Now a new study from the University of Georgia indicates that hanging out with people who have self-control can help you develop that quality yourself.

Prof. Michelle vanDellen and her colleagues devised three different studies to find out if self-control can be contagious.
In one study, for example, the research team assigned 36 volunteers to think about a friend who had either good or bad self-control.
Those who thought of a friend with good self-control persisted longer at a task commonly used to measure that trait.

"The take-home message of the study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self control," said Dr. vanDellen. "By exhibiting self-control, you are helping others around you do the same."

The study appeared in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Labels: self-control