Burn The Fat Inner Circle Newsletter 10

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Burn The Fat Inner Circle Newsletter #10

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BURN THE FAT INNER CIRCLE NEWSLETTER

Brought to You by:

http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com

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August 23nd, 2007

In This Issue:

THE 5TH ELEMENT REVISITED

Science Affirms The Power Of Social Support For Achieving Your Perfect Weight And Body Of Your Dreams

By Tom Venuto

One year ago, I published a special report called,

"The 5th Element"

http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/137.cfm

The 5th Element revealed a powerful principle that if put into action, could truly transform not just your body, but your entire life in numerous ways...

The 5th element proposed the following:

1. There are 4 elements that must be present for MAXIMUM results in your fat loss and fitness program: (1) nutrition,

(2) resistance training, (3) cardio training, (4) "mental"

training. If you're missing any element, your results will be less than they would with all four in place. If you're missing two or three of these elements, you may get little, if any results at all.

2. When someone has all 4 elements in place and they still struggle to get results or stay consistent with those elements over time, it may be because there is another element they're missing, which most people never think about or take seriously.

3. This 5th element is social support

4. Social support can come in many forms including friends, family, church, trainers, coaches, support groups and more.

5. Research in scientific peer-reviewed nutrition, obesity, and physiology journals, as well as sociology and psychology publications, has provided evidence that programs which include social support have better outcomes than those which don't.

6. When negative social pressure is dragging you down, especially from people close to you, it's extremely difficult to get maximum results and reach all your goals.

7. If you're you're not getting social support for your fitness endeavors from your family, obviously you can't change your family, but you can reach out to enlist support from your friends, and you can seek out new friends and social contacts with similar goals as you.

8. New research has shown that Internet support groups, while not necessarily better than in person support, are a viable and effective method for providing social support.

Now fast forward to the present day.

A new study was recently published by researchers from Harvard in the New England Journal Of Medicine, titled:

"The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network Over 32 Years."

The media put their own spin on it with headlines saying, "Obesity is contagious." However, the study was not about obesity being biologically infectious, the study said that obesity spreads through SOCIAL networks, ie, obesity is "socially contagious."

12,067 people who had been enrolled in the famous Framingham heart study were analyzed using a longitudinal statistical model to see whether weight gain in one person was correlated with weight gain in his or her friends, siblings, spouse or neighbors.

The results, although not surprising, were extremely significant:

Among adult siblings, if one sibling became obese, the chance that the other would become obese increased by 40% (55% among siblings of the same gender).

If one spouse became obese, the likelihood that the other spouse would become obese increased by 37%.

Mutual friends - those who both considered each other a good friend - had the highest risk of all. If one became obese, the risk for the other increased by 171%. This showed that the influence in friendship ties was directional.

There was no effect on risk if an immediate neighbor became obese, but even hundreds of miles did not decrease the risk of weight gain among close social ties (friends, siblings), if they were obese.

Not only did this paper, which was published in one of the world's most prestigious scientific journals, confirm what I described in "The 5th Element" about social influence, it also confirmed that geographic distance did not matter, piling on even more evidence that social support can be effective over long distance by internet or phone.

In a previous study, "The role of social support in lifestyle- focused weight management interventions," researchers from the Netherlands also confirmed that family members, friends, colleagues and communities (including church) can play an important role in social support. They referred to this as your "natural network."

However, we all know how difficult it can be when we are surrounded by negativity and peer pressure and unfortunately, it often comes from our very own family and friends.

"Cmon!!! A few cookies won't hurt ya..."

"How do you live like that... eating all that rabbit food?"

"Have a drink... loosen up and have some fun will ya?"

"Live's too short to live in the gym all the time..."

And so on...

In fact, one study from the University of Michigan ("Social Networks and Social Support In WeightLoss") found that family members were considered both the MOST helpful and the LEAST helpful by study participants!

Having the support of your spouse or family may be YOUR "5th element"

and your greatest leverage - if you can get it - but if you're surrounded by negativity or your current environment is not conducive to health and fitness yet, don't worry, there's good news:

Although obesity appears to spread socially, the studies also say that so do health and fitness habits. It's largely a matter of getting around the right people and letting them rub off on you.

The Harvard researchers said:

"It's possible to harness this same force to slow the spread of obesity.

Network phenomena might be exploited to spread positive health behaviors, in part because people's perception of their own risk may depend on the people around them."

The Dutch researchers agreed and added:

"Bringing new sources of support such as peers into action may be helpful when social support from natural networks is insufficient."

The 5th element - social support - is a powerful concept.

although my original report was written one year ago, it is still available, and it's as important and relevant as ever.

If you havent seen the 5th element report yet, I recommend you download a copy (it's freee - link below), and consider the impact that this could have in your life, especially in light of all the latest evidence backing it up.

Although this is powerful, you will probably agree, that it's also just confirmation of what most people already know and believe...

You're only as good as the company you keep.

If you don't have the natural support network you need, then consider the suggestion from the Dutch study: Look outside your natural network and bring new sources of support into action.

Our Inner Circle has been the motivational fitness support group of choice for thousands of people from 113 countries:

http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

Train hard and expect success always,

Tom Venuto

Founder & CEO,

Burn The Fat Inner Circle

Non members and members alike can access the freee 5th element report here:

http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/137.cfm

Current inner circle members can access our latest research report:

New Research Confirms That Obesity Spreads Through Social Networks":

http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/339.cfm

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