Social gaming can be effective weight loss tool: study

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island made an interesting discovery regarding a social gaming site's link to weight loss. DietBet is an online commercial weight loss program that combines social influence with financial incentive, resulting in "significant" user weight loss. Published in JMIR Serious Games, Tricia Leahey, Ph.D. and her team at the The Miriam Hospital Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center were interested in the results of DietBet and similar web-based programs. "Online social weight loss programs are accessible to large numbers of overweight and obese individuals who want to lose weight," Leahey noted, "but there has been little research to date on whether such programs are effective, or just how much weight loss they generate."