Success trumps popularity in persuading others to eat right, exercise

A new research has revealed that a person who finds success in a wellness program is more influential in getting friends to sign up than a charismatic, but less successful pal.

Researcher Cavuoto of University at Buffalo said that people want to see that positive influence and understanding how social influence affects people's participation in health programs can lead to better-designed wellness interventions.

Countless diets and weight-loss programs exist to combat the high rate of obesity among Americans, but they do little good if people don't adopt them.

Cavuoto's research will help diet and exercise programs reach more people by advising marketers on which people to target as endorsers.

The study simulated the behavior of fictional people created using combinations of physical attributes and personality traits, such as the ability to lose weight and a high or low body mass index. The model distributed traits based on national population averages.

Based on the simulations, people in social networks linked to someone who successfully lost weight or had a high body mass index produced the largest total weight loss among peers. The networks surrounding a person with a high number of friends, those who were more charismatic or popular, produced lower weight-loss totals.

Cavuoto's results support the new approach many weight-loss programs have taken in attracting new participants: Celebrity endorsers with a large reach have taken a backseat to everyday people who benefit from a new diet or workout.

Cavuoto added that your ties and social contacts may have a bigger effect because you see them every day and you have that close connection and if they can be successful, then that's your best way of getting information out that a program is good.

The study is published in the Journal of Healthcare Engineering.