Study: Friends May Influence Your Weight

A study from 2007 has come out regarding how a social network of close friends could be the cause of rise of obesity in the United States.  

In the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis and Dr. James H. Fowler published their findings from a research study they conducted on social networks. The doctors took an already established research group that had been studied for 32 years for heart disease and explored the social ramifications of weight gain.  

What they found was that a close friend can influence your weight more so than a spouse or a family member. Doctors Christakis and Fowler also found that closely tied friends could be hundreds of miles from one another and still gain the same amount of weight.  

The significance of this study shows that your social network of friends could be a detriment to your health. In this age of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. you can stay connected with people a lot easier. However, have you noticed that you and your friends over the years have gained a significant amount of weight? Or let’s explore this thought: what if you are on the path of losing weight and getting healthier and your friends do their best to convince you to join them on their journey to get fatter?

The study is significant because it spans several generations of people for 32 years. According to the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine: 

"The spread of obesity in social networks appears to be a factor in the obesity epidemic. Yet the relevance of social influence also suggests that it may be 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 perceptions of their own risk of illness may depend on the people around them. 

"Smoking and alcohol cessation programs and weight-loss interventions that provide peer support—that modify the person's social network—are more successful than those that do not. People are connected, and so their health is connected. Consequently, medical and public health interventions might be more cost-effective than initially supposed, since health improvements in one person might spread to others. The observation that people are embedded in social networks suggests that both bad and good behaviors might spread over a range of social ties. This highlights the necessity of approaching obesity not only as a clinical problem but also as a public health problem.” 

What is important to remember is that there is a way to change the upward trend in this overall fat epidemic. Finding a healthy social network could be the key to attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. What is most important is that you find a place that aligns with your values of health and wellness.  When it comes to success the support one can receive from their social network is the key to success. If your social network is always convincing you to go for the burger or skip your exercise regime, that could possibly be the wrong network of friends.

If you are a leader in your social group you may be the key to setting a healthy standard. When all of our waistlines are increasing every year and you see the people around you with the same problem, it may be time to modify your social network.

Are you looking for a healthy social network? Maybe you and your friends are ready to set a new standard of friendship? Do you need an incentive? What about the ability to lose inches, and gain $1,000? Would that be worth your time? Do you think you and your friends can commit to six weeks and find a new body and new you, to show off this summer?

Interested in learning more?? Find out all the details on the New Summer Body team Challenge at http://www.OnlyResultsFitness.com