Leadnaija
When you consider the benefits of healthy weight loss, which come to mind first? Is it the physical improvements, such as in metabolic health (e.g., diabetes, liver disease, or sleep apnea) and orthopaedic health (e.g., osteoarthritis, chronic pain, physical mobility)? Or is it perhaps mental health and emotional changes, such as body image, confidence, and depression?
What about changes in your social and relationship life? Did those also come to mind? If not, they should.
Research on relationship changes after healthy weight loss
Most people underestimate the profound effects that significant weight loss can have on relationships. The research, in fact, is still catching up. For example, although bariatric surgeries have been helping people achieve transformative health and weight loss results for decades, it wasn’t until recently that scientists began studying their effects on relationships. What they found was shocking. People who were single before their bariatric surgery reported a 50% increase in forming a romantic relationship after surgery, whereas people who were married before their bariatric surgery showed almost a doubling in their relative divorce rate.1,2
Bariatric surgery affects only about 250,000 people per year in the U.S.3 Yet now that millions more Americans are using GLP-1 medicines (e.g., Wegovy, Zepbound) to also achieve large healthy weight loss results, scientists and health professionals anticipate that dramatic social and relationship change such as those observed in bariatric surgery populations will become much more common.
For many people, a desire for improved relationships is even a primary motivation for their weight loss journey. Consider:
The parent who feels limited to watching their child play soccer from the bleachers due to their weight and health constraints.
The spouse who feels that their partner is impacted or burdened by their weight-related limitations.
The person who becomes a new parent or grandparent and wants to be alive and healthy enough to be a part of their life and see them grow up.
- So many weight loss journeys gain their inspiration from a wish for improved relationships.
- Why relationship changes are so common and profound after significant weight loss
Social changes during and after healthy weight loss occur for many reasons:
With physical health improvements, people are liberated to become more socially active. This leads to them meeting new people and changing how they spend time with the people in their existing relationships.
Healthy weight loss produces improved metabolic and hormonal function. As a result, they have more energy, endurance, and even an increased sex drive that predictably impact existing and new relationships.4
Improved body image and confidence often result in a person becoming more outgoing and socially active. Although this can be beneficial, these changes can also disrupt relationships adapted to the person’s previous lifestyle.
Physical appearance changes result in reduced social stigma, less self-consciousness, and more positive social interactions. This can fuel a positive feedback loop of favourable social interactions, leading to a desire for increased social activity.
In some cases, healthy weight loss will even have affects on personality, such as cultivating new interests, activating interests in a person that had become dormant, or decreasing interest in prior interests (e.g., GLP-1 medicine use decreases interest in food, potentially resulting in a decline in interest in food-centered recreation activities).5
For any or all of these reasons, social and relationship changes are predictable after healthy weight loss. For some individuals, these changes may be among the most life-altering that they experience on their weight-loss journeys.
Clinical suggestions for social changes
Expect social and relationships to change after weight loss. The more weight you lose and the more you change your lifestyle to achieve healthy weight loss, the more likely relationships are to change.
Set relationship goals for your weight loss journey. Just as you might have specific weight goals and health goals, think about what you want your social, family, and romantic life to look after weight loss. Relationships are too important to leave to chance.
Share your social goals with your friends, family, and partners. You are more likely to achieve both your health and social and relational goals after weight loss if you have a shared vision with the people in your life. By working together, you are more likely to arrive at a shared destination.
Conclusion
Changes in relationships represent an important and often overlooked part of a healthy weight loss journey. Research shows that major social changes after weight loss are common, suggesting that we should be actively thinking about and planning for these changes so as to support not just our medically-related weight loss goals but also our broader goals of improved happiness and quality of life.
