A new benefit of social media has been revealed: Social media helps you lose weight.

According to a research conducted in Rovira i Virgillu University in Spain, as the number of online connections individuals trying to lose weight have with other individuals in the same boat increase, their chance of actually succeeding in losing weight also increases.

Obesity and Metabolic Surgeon Professor Halil Coşkun underlined that the contribution of social networks in the fight against obesity is undeniable in this sense. Researchers examined 22,400 people and focused on 5,400 people who attended the program for at least six months and declared that they lost weight during the study at least twice. The researchers concluded that the most crucial factor in weight loss was the participation level of the participants in social networks. Individuals with no ties to social networks, showed after six months, a mere 4.1 percent decrease in their body weight. Meanwhile, groups of individuals who have two to nine online friends saw a 5.2 percent decrease in their body weight. The group formed of approximately 1,500 individuals, who are all members of large networks, experienced a 6.8 percent decrease in their body weight, while this figure increased to 8.3 percent for individuals with high number of online friends and those whose friends also have a high number of friends.

Although it has been known that support groups and interventions also support the fight against obesity, what an online system could achieve was never proven before.

"If you include social media in your efforts to lose weight and obtain online support, you will feel less alone in this fight," said Coşkun and added that social media contributes to the morale and motivations of patients and boost their confidence on the road to success.