The key to a successful diet plan could lie in denomination, not determination, a recent study suggests, after it discovered that weight-loss programmes are more successful if the meetings take place in a church.
A group of American researchers discovered that a woman's dieting success can vary with the location of her weight-loss meetings and her personal level of dieting experience.
The study, published in theJournal of Black Psychology, monitored two groups of women aged 18 to 55 who were in the same weight-loss programme. Of these 55 women, 19 met together at a church and 36 met at a local university.
After 13 weeks, researchers found that the women meeting in the church had lost more weight than those who met at a university.
Researchers Tracy Sbrocco, Robyn Osborn, Robert D. Clark, Chiao-Wen Hsiao and M.Carter believe that the reason behind the weight-loss success was down to the women being in familiar surroundings of the church, meaning they were more likely to open up and lend or receive encouragement and support.
"Church-based groups have a built-in social support system that allows members to see each other, check in, and follow up on behavior changes," explain the authors.
"Whereas individuals who attended the university often rushed into groups as they began and left as soon as the groups ended, individuals in the church setting were more likely to linger before and after group times."
Researchers also found that women who had changed their eating and exercise regime for the first time lost more weight than those who had experience in weight management and dieting.
The study claims this is because women with a dieting past are less likely to seek and accept social support from others and find it harder to shake off bad habits.