The study, published in the journal Obesity, caught my eye this week as it investigated the affect of team-based weight loss through an online competition. Clearly you can see the parallels with our current mini-transformation contest, which has only a couple more weeks left to run. However this contest had a slight difference.

In the study people signed up to the contest to join small teams that would compete against each other in weight loss, activity or steps walked. The researchers noticed weight loss clusters within the teams, and the more successful team participants lauded their team-mates for their encouragement throughout the twelve-week contest. They also felt if they didn’t stick to their programs they would be letting their team-mates down.

The inner-office weight loss contests are nothing new, and many of them can lead to a lot of success for those involved. However, these contests tend to be individuals vs. individuals. A better idea may be to divide the entrants into teams, where the winning team shares the spoils. Performing as individuals largely means they are accountable to themselves; however being part of a team makes them accountable to their cohort. The pressure involved in this could be a greater motivator than a person’s own actual weight loss results.

Source: Gokee Larose J, Leahey TM, Weinberg BM, Kumar R, Wing RR. Young adults' performance in a low intensity weight loss campaign. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2012 Feb 9.