Perceived impact of online social support on self-regulatory weight-loss behaviour in a sample of young South African adults

Abstract

Weight loss during young adulthood is a challenge that necessitates deliberate and conscious decision making and self-regulation. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the perceived relationship between online social support and self-regulation of specific weight loss goals in a sample of 15 young South Africans adults. Participants completed a self-compiled open-ended questionnaire on SurveyMonkey. Findings show that participants rely on social media sites to obtain their weight loss goals due to their accessibility, convenience, affordability, as well as their informative and emotionally supportive nature. Participants perceive social media generally as effective, despite certain challenges, in facilitating key self-regulatory skills and ultimately in the achievement of their weight loss goals. The findings are compared to previous research, limitations are discussed and recommendations for further research are made