People who were overweight or obese were more likely to hit exercise goals such as a taking a certain number of steps per day when they were taking part in step-counting contests rather than just using activity trackers to count their own steps, according to a new study.
A September 25, 2019 Reuters article discussed the research and the idea that competition can help overweight people exercise more frequently.
“Exercising with a friend or partner is definitely more effective for sticking to a goal compared to doing it on your own,” said Ichiro Kawachi, John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Social Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was not part of the study. “If you’re a very organized person, you could even start a team competition in your own workplace to encourage everyone to get off the couch.”
Read the Reuters article: Competition can help overweight people get moving