Obesity Is Contagious, Study Finds - TIME
Popularity Report
 |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
Rank
URL Tag Cloud
Bookmark History
Saved by 2 people (1 private), first by anonymouse user on 2007-07-26
- Peanutputter on 2008-04-03 - Tags obesityoffbeat , obesityresearch , obesitywows , obesitypresentation
- Naytanda on 2007-07-26 - Tags no_tag
Public Sticky notes
obesity isn't just spreading; rather, it may be contagious between people, like
a common cold.
Highlighted by naytanda
"You are what you eat isn't the end of the story," says study co-author James
Fowler, a political scientist at UC San Diego. "You are what you and your
friends eat."
Highlighted by naytanda
The best proof that friendship caused the weight gain, says Fowler, is that
people were much more likely to pattern their own behavior on the actions of
people they considered friends
Highlighted by naytanda
Spouses share meals and a backyard, but the researchers found a much smaller
risk of gaining weight — a 37% increase — when one spouse became obese. Siblings
share genes, but their influence, too, was much smaller, increasing each other's
risk 40%. Fowler believes the effect has much more to do with social norms: whom
we look to when considering appropriate social behavior. Having fat friends
makes being fat seem more acceptable.
Highlighted by naytanda
Public Comment