Weight Loss More Likely In Pessimists Says A Study

A new discovery about health and fitness has found an unexpected revelation. Personality state has been found to influence weight loss in people. Specifically, pessimism has been found to be relative to a person's ability to lose weight through dieting and other fitness programs. Thus, being optimistic could possibly harm a person's ability to maintain a diet and eventually achieve a target loss of weight.

This constituted the findings of a scientific research that was conducted in Doshita University in the city of Kyoto, Japan. The study involved 101 obese respondents who were subjected to rigorous counseling, exercise, and nutrition therapies. The study was conducted for a period of six months. Before the start of the research, the scientists were expecting an opposite view: that optimistic people are more likely to lose weight than those who are harboring negative feelings towards weight loss efforts and other issues.

Logically, all patients' psychological traits and characteristics were taken and noted prior to the clinical study. This was done though the use of questionnaires that were strategically prepared to assess and identify the patients' different types of personalities. All the respondents were classified based on personalities and were observed for behavioral patterns to validate their personality types.

According to the study, patients who had negative opinions and views about weight loss were more likely to take the most benefits out of counseling and diet plans. Most of them were able to ramp up or improve their own self-awareness. Thus, they were more likely to lose weight compared to those who were not able to do so. Eventually, such patients with negative feelings were able to turn optimistic before the end of the six-month study period. This could be attributed to their ability to achieve target results for losing weight.

In comparison, patients who began the program with very high optimism levels were found to be much less likely to lose weight. This is aside from the fact that they were also subjected to the same levels of counseling during the endeavor. Scientists explained that this could be because those patients were not aiming high anymore. The patients were more likely to be less challenged than their counterparts.

The result is supporting findings of recent research efforts that negative feelings or emotions could bring about positive effects to the behavior of patients. This is because such patients tend to be more caring about their own diseases or health and fitness condition.

However, scientists of the study in focus are asserting that overall improvement in the optimistic ego could not necessarily be totally detrimental. In fact, the increased optimism could influence patients to have and maintain healthier lifestyles that are achieved during the clinical research. Thus, it could be very significant to enhance the self control and self effectiveness of patients to lower psychological stress and at the same time maintain weight loss.

Separate studies have also found that unhappiness could actually lead to better weight loss results. It could also significantly increase a person's motivation to lose weight. On a separate note, but somehow still related, another study (this time in the United States) has found that optimism in people could increase life expectancy and at the same time reduce risks of heart ailments.

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