If a loved one is showing the results of overindulging this festive season, it's probably best not to say anything.

如果你爱的人在圣诞节后因为暴饮暴食而变胖，你最好什么都不要说。

Telling someone should lose a few lbs - even if you're just trying to help - could actually cause them to gain weight instead, according to new research.

最新研究显示，告诉某人应该减肥——即使你只是想帮忙——实际上却会导致他们体重增加。

The study showed that women who receive more 'acceptance messages' are more successful at maintaining and even losing weight overall, compared to those who receive more negative messages.

该研究显示，获得更多“认可信息”的女性比收到更多负面信息的女性更易成功地保持身材，甚至减肥。

Professor Christine Logel from Renison University College at the University of Waterloo led the study, which appears as a news release in the December issue of the journal Personal Relationships.

滑铁卢大学（University of Waterlooled）瑞纳森学院的克里斯汀·洛格尔教授（Christine Logel）带领团队进行了该研究，研究结果被以新闻的形式发布到了本月的《人际关系》（Personal Relationships）上。

She said: 'When we feel bad about our bodies, we often turn to loved ones - families, friends and romantic partners - for support and advice.

她表示：“当我们对自己的身材不满意时，常常向亲朋好友和恋人这类至亲至信的人寻求支持与建议。

'How they respond can have a bigger effect than we might think.'

“而他们的反应会比我们想象的具有更大影响力。”

Researchers studied university-age women (18-21) - who are often dissatisfied with their weight.

研究人员对年龄在18至21岁之间的女大学生进行研究，发现这些女孩常对自己的体重感到不满。

A team of social psychologists asked the participants their height and weight and how they felt when they saw it on the scale.

一组社会心理学家询问参与者的身高和体重，和她们看到这些数据时的感受如何。

Five months later, they asked them if they had talked to their loved ones about their concerns and how they responded.

五个月后，研究人员询问她们是否曾向所爱的人诉说自己的忧虑，以及他们是如何回应的。

Then, after about three months, researchers analyzed whether their weight and their concerns had changed.

之后，大概三个月后，研究人员分析她们的体重和忧虑是否发生了变化。

Findings revealed that those who were told by friends, family, and romantic partners that they looked just fine as they are managed to maintain their weight, or even lose some.

结果表明，那些被朋友、家人和爱人告知身材不赖的女性，成功地控制了体重，甚至减轻了体重。

Those who received less-acceptable messages were likely to gain about4.5 lbson average, whereas women who received comparatively more weight acceptance messages lost a pound.

而那些获得支持较少的女性，体重平均增加了4.5磅（大约4斤）；而收到相对更多认可信息的的女性瘦了1磅（大约0.9斤）。

The results showed that when women concerned about their weight heard that their loved ones accepted them as they are, they felt better about their bodies, and subsequently they did not gain like other women did, report Science Daily.

每日科学（Science Daily）报道称，研究结果表明，当女性听到爱人给与的支持后，会对自己的身材更加满意，因此不会像其他女性一样变胖。

Pressure from loved ones about weight loss was not helpful for women already concerned about it, and in fact led women who weren't originally concerned about their weight to gain weight, too.

而来自爱人的压力不仅不会对那些本就重视减肥的女性有所帮助，事实上，反而会让起初没有担忧体重的女性也增加体重。

The research suggests that feeling better about themselves caused the women to be more active or eat more sensibly. Unconditional acceptance may have also lowered their stress, a known cause of weight gain.

研究显示，良好的自我感觉会令女性更活跃、更理智地饮食。来自他人无条件的认可也能减轻她们的压力。众所周知，压力正是导致人们体重增加的原因。

（翻译：zoe212 编辑：丁一）