Interesting Study: If Your Family & Friends Get Fat, Chances Are You Will Too
There’s a new study out there that is suggesting that obesity is “socially contagious.” Apparently, if your family & friends get fat, you are likely to get fat as well.
The large, federally funded study found that to be true even if your loved ones lived far away. Social ties seemed to play a surprisingly strong role, even more than genes are known to do.
[via AP Article]
Well, if that’s true I’m only going to hang out with skinny people from now on! Who cares if my best friend is fat…but wait…
Despite their findings, the researchers said people should not sever their relationships.
Ok, whew. But why not?
“There is a ton of research that suggest that having more friends makes you healthier,” Fowler said. “So the last thing that you want to do is get rid of any of your friends.”
You’ll be happier if you have fat friends, but you’ll be fat too. I find this whole study fascinating. In the end, though, I think some of it makes sense and it’s because of the same reason that some experts not involved with the study gave:
Obesity experts not involved in the research said the results back up what they have suspected all along — that people look toward one another for what is an acceptable weight.
As someone who would be considered the “fat one,” it sort of makes me feel bad that I could be playing a part in my family members getting fat. I’m not so sure I like what this study has to say, but if anything I think it can be helpful to involve your friends in family with your weight reduction. Having a healthier family member might help make others healthier as well. At least that’s what I’m taking from this…and trying to take the negative of being the “fat one” and putting a positive spin on it.
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Comments
I don’t buy this study. I’d link to my commentary on it at Run to Win, but my web host is moving my server and hasn’t seen fit to bring it back up yet.
Like Dawn said, if you hang around with people that have more fun going to McDonalds than playing a pickup game of basketball, you are not going to be in as good shape. Being obese is not a disease in most cases, and when it is it is not a contagious disease since it is passed through genetics and not by some sort of bug or bacteria.
Anybody can change their lifestyle and lose weight and lead a healthier life. You are a case in point; you are well on your way to a healthier lifestyle as evidenced by this very site.
Interesting. Don’t know that I believe it but although I do have to say that my best friend and I used to be skinny and we both started gaining weight when we went to college together. We’ve lost and gained weight over and over through the past gazillion years so I guess maybe some of that story does have a bit of truth to it.
I suspect that since friends generally have something in common, lifestyles may be similar. If you have a BBQ in the yard and allll of your friends bring brownies rather than veggie trays then that makes sense to me. I guess I should try not to be the one making the least healthy thing to pass at social gatherings. This is fascinating to me too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and getting me thinking.