Friends making you fat? Obesity is 'socially contagious'
07-26-2007, 09:08 AM
#1
Founding Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 08-21-2005
Location: NE OH
Posts: 1,207
Friends making you fat? Obesity is 'socially contagious'
Did you guys see this? It's all over the news
http://health.yahoo.com/news/177766
I think they hit the nail on the head.
When people have close friends and family that are overweigh, they start accepting it and thinking being fat is ok. They even defend them and make it a touchy subject.
I don’t have to struggle with this problem, but I see it around me.
what do you guys think?
http://health.yahoo.com/news/177766
I think they hit the nail on the head.
When people have close friends and family that are overweigh, they start accepting it and thinking being fat is ok. They even defend them and make it a touchy subject.
I don’t have to struggle with this problem, but I see it around me.
what do you guys think?
07-26-2007, 11:08 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: 04-05-2006
Location: Greenville, MS
Posts: 342
Did you guys see this? It's all over the news
http://health.yahoo.com/news/177766
I think they hit the nail on the head.
When people have close friends and family that are overweigh, they start accepting it and thinking being fat is ok. They even defend them and make it a touchy subject.
I don’t have to struggle with this problem, but I see it around me.
what do you guys think?
http://health.yahoo.com/news/177766
I think they hit the nail on the head.
When people have close friends and family that are overweigh, they start accepting it and thinking being fat is ok. They even defend them and make it a touchy subject.
I don’t have to struggle with this problem, but I see it around me.
what do you guys think?
On a side note being fat does not make you any less of a person inside. I am not defending obesity, everyone should do their best to be as healthy as possible, but should we really group all overweight people into the same category? This is my initial offtake of the link and my opinion may change after further review but for now I am sticking to my story.. This should make for some interesting discussion, looking forward to reading everones responses..Julian
07-26-2007, 12:22 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: 03-10-2007
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 211
I read an article similar to this yesterday, but as it confused me then I thought I would read this one! However, I was still left with a feeling of "WTF?" so I quickly scanned the article as printed in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is what I think:
I'd love to talk to the people who conducted this study. In my haste, I may have missed it, but common sense would give you a good reason why groups of friends may experience weight loss and gain. Why? Because friends hang out with each other and tend to enjoy similar lifestyles. If all your friends love sitting in the backyard pounding beer and burgers all day then there is a good chance you may become overweight! Even if friends move away, lifestyle is something that you tend to continue to share. I haven’t seen too many golf players hanging out at the pool hall.
The point of this study was that if your friend becomes obese, there is more of chance that you will as well. They suggest that if you find yourself in this situation that you include yourself in new social situations (keep all your friends though - apparently it’s the healthy thing to do!) that encourage healthier lifestyles with peer support. Really? Like joining a gym? No kidding.
It's studies like this that make me wonder about the quality of a University education!
I'd love to talk to the people who conducted this study. In my haste, I may have missed it, but common sense would give you a good reason why groups of friends may experience weight loss and gain. Why? Because friends hang out with each other and tend to enjoy similar lifestyles. If all your friends love sitting in the backyard pounding beer and burgers all day then there is a good chance you may become overweight! Even if friends move away, lifestyle is something that you tend to continue to share. I haven’t seen too many golf players hanging out at the pool hall.
The point of this study was that if your friend becomes obese, there is more of chance that you will as well. They suggest that if you find yourself in this situation that you include yourself in new social situations (keep all your friends though - apparently it’s the healthy thing to do!) that encourage healthier lifestyles with peer support. Really? Like joining a gym? No kidding.
It's studies like this that make me wonder about the quality of a University education!
07-26-2007, 12:31 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: 12-28-2005
Location: Worcester County, MA
Posts: 2,531
Working in an Emergency Room with wild nurses has caused me to gain. All they do is bring in food. I have gone from slim and trim to "mildly full figured". I can just bet the extra weight does awesome things for my heart.
07-26-2007, 12:54 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: 03-01-2007
Location: Independence, Missouri
Posts: 196
I think all of this is bull. I have friends who are overweight, underweight, normal weight, whatever else. None of them have an influence on my weight or my health issues.
I'm of average weight (6'4" @180#) which alot of people say is thin and so do I. However, according to my doctor this is a good weight to maintain for my height. My wife is overweight, admits it, and is doing all she can to lose a few pounds but it still doesn't have an influence on my eating or excercising habits.
I think what their findings are telling us is that people want to "fit in" and tend to do as others do instead of making their own choices. So you can blame it on your friends and family all you want, but in the long run you can only blame yourself.
I'm of average weight (6'4" @180#) which alot of people say is thin and so do I. However, according to my doctor this is a good weight to maintain for my height. My wife is overweight, admits it, and is doing all she can to lose a few pounds but it still doesn't have an influence on my eating or excercising habits.
I think what their findings are telling us is that people want to "fit in" and tend to do as others do instead of making their own choices. So you can blame it on your friends and family all you want, but in the long run you can only blame yourself.
07-26-2007, 04:18 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: 05-22-2007
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 318
I think all of this is bull. I have friends who are overweight, underweight, normal weight, whatever else. None of them have an influence on my weight or my health issues.
I'm of average weight (6'4" @180#) which alot of people say is thin and so do I. However, according to my doctor this is a good weight to maintain for my height. My wife is overweight, admits it, and is doing all she can to lose a few pounds but it still doesn't have an influence on my eating or excercising habits.
I think what their findings are telling us is that people want to "fit in" and tend to do as others do instead of making their own choices. So you can blame it on your friends and family all you want, but in the long run you can only blame yourself.
I'm of average weight (6'4" @180#) which alot of people say is thin and so do I. However, according to my doctor this is a good weight to maintain for my height. My wife is overweight, admits it, and is doing all she can to lose a few pounds but it still doesn't have an influence on my eating or excercising habits.
I think what their findings are telling us is that people want to "fit in" and tend to do as others do instead of making their own choices. So you can blame it on your friends and family all you want, but in the long run you can only blame yourself.