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Self‐comparisons as motivators for healthy behavior
Author(s) -
Shakya Holly B.,
Christakis Nicholas A.,
Fowler James H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.21201
Subject(s) - dieting , feeling , odds , psychology , normative , social psychology , psychological intervention , obesity , developmental psychology , odds ratio , clinical psychology , weight loss , medicine , logistic regression , psychiatry , philosophy , epistemology , pathology
Objective We explored whether individuals' comparison of themselves to their social contacts, specifically feeling fitter or thinner than friends, is a significant predictor of three weight‐loss behaviors (dieting, reducing alcohol, exercising). Methods We used a longitudinal survey of a national sample of Americans ( N = 20,373) to measure respondents' personal social networks and their self‐comparisons to their social contacts at two annual waves. Results Participants who felt thinner than friends in Wave 1 had 1.16 lower odds of dieting in Wave 2. Those who felt fitter than friends in Wave 1 had 1.10 times higher odds of reducing alcohol and 1.18 times higher odds of exercising in Wave 2. We found that 20% of the relationship between feeling thin at baseline and subsequent dieting may be because feeling heavier than friends makes one want to lose weight. This same dynamic accounts for 25% of the relationship between feeling fit and dieting and 12% of the relationship between feeling thin and reducing alcohol. Conclusions These results suggest that normative self‐comparison with important others is a potentially salient determinant of obesity‐related health behavior and appears to work differently depending upon the behavior. Interventions may benefit from exploiting social comparisons in targeted ways.