As a person with an identical twin brother who consistently weighs less than I do, I can attest that -- without even really doing anything -- he can be a big motivator for weight loss for me. For instance, I remember a Christmas where our parents bought us matching belts: his fit, mine didn't. That gave me plenty of inspiration to join a gym.
London-based TwinBody believes the key to building an effective dieting app is providing everyone with the equivalent of an identical twin. But unlike my own shame-motivated weight loss efforts, founder and CEO Jorgen Damgaard-Hansen wants to match people with "twins" for mutual support. His app lets people connect with others who share their age, gender, previous weight, current weight, goal weight, height and/or location.
"When we designed this app, we kept in mind that it can often be difficult to find understanding and support from your closest networks of friends and family," he said in a statement. "We offer a platform that lets you find the support you need from people just like yourself by offering the ability to search for users exactly like you."
Numerous studies have shown that social support can be a big driver of weight loss, both in person and in the context of a health app. I suspect the value of the twin angle is not so much that "twins" will have exactly the same weight loss journeys as each other, even with so much in common. Instead, starting out with someone who's in the same place as you allows you to start from a place of trust and support, without judgement or jealousy.
In a blog post, Damgaard-Hansen said he questioned early on "whether people would really be supportive of one another, or if they would expect more from others than they give themselves."
"Would everyone really show continuous support for someone they only know through the app?" he wrote. "My fear [was] put in the grave a long time ago, but it still amazes me to see just how supportive everyone is. It is amazing to see how people lift each other up here."
In that way, I guess TwinBody has pretty well mimicked the experience -- or at least my experience -- of having a twin. That Christmas, my brother jumped up right away and offered to trade another gift of his for the belt. If TwinBody can foster relationships like that, it could turn out to be a pretty effective tool.
