Study: Obesity is 'socially contagious'

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 1:11:51 PM

from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_on_he_me/diet_contagious_fat_2;_ylt=Apsgm_z8noUR5Kep0W5RnmAXIr0F If your friends and family get fat, chances are you will too, researchers report in a startling new study that suggests obesity is "socially contagious" and can spread easily from person to person. ... 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. "If you're just a little bit heavy and everyone around you is quite heavier, you will feel good when you look in a mirror," said Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center. I think this is true in the reverse as well. My best friend was sick and lost a lot of weight, my sisters had stressful events that contributed to them losing a lot of weight, last year's family reunion showed some of my dad's sisters went on a "portion-control" diet kick, my cousins are mostly on the thin side, my sisters-in-law lost weight and got into shape for their weddings. It definitely pressured me to step up my exercise and eating properly so I'm not the overly-fat person at all of the parties. (Or taken to be pregnant.) Maybe if they all got totally fat, I wouldn't feel a need to exercise and watch what I eat. That isn't one of my favorite things to do, so I could see letting it slide. But only if they got fat first. :D