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The time-bound adage that you are known by the company you keep may now apply to obesity and overweight as well, according to Harvard researchers. Moving around in social circles where many people are obese or overweight might in turn serve to make people fat, the research appearing in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) says.
This concept that obesity might spread from person to person is a unique take on a condition that is fast assuming epidemic proportions. Sedentary lifestyle practices coupled with a shift in diet to junk foods are the main reason behind this explosion of overweight or obese population.
The World Health Organization has declared obesity as a global epidemic having major health implications in 1997. It estimated that some 2 billion people worldwide are obese or overweight.
Obesity is a dangerous condition which is linked to the so-called lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, heart disease, poor self-esteem, and a lower health-related quality of life.
Although many strategies have been proposed to tackle obesity, the social implications are researched for the first time. The present study analyzed the social network of 12,067 people who had been followed for close to three decades from 1971 to 2003 and were involved in the Framingham Heart Study.
Researchers were aware of the social contacts of the participants as well as the weight of these individuals. they set out to examine if people who kept obese company became obese as well. every two years, the participants received regular check ups. They were defined as obese if their Body Mass Index was over 30.
Surprisingly the study found that people were most likely to become obese if a friend or a sibling or even a spouse was overweight or obese. However neighbors did not exert the same influence and family members' influence was negligible when compared to obese friends. Several related factors like gender, natural weight gain with aging, and the general inclination to be with similar people were also taken into account.
Other findings of the study were:
* Having obese friends increased one's own chances of becoming obese by 57 percent.
* This risk went up to 71 percent if the obese friend in question belonged to the same gender.
* Chances of obesity if a spouse was obese were 37 percent.
* Among siblings the chances of obesity if one of them was obese increased to 40 percent.
* ironically distance did not matter. Even if the obese friend was miles away, obesity seemed to be contagious.
* If a friend was obese and the friendship was defined as close, the chances of the other friend becoming obese increase by a whooping 171 percent.
the researchers theorize that having social contact with people who are either thin or fat might immunize the brain to their looks. For example if most people in your network are fat, they the general perception is that it is alright to gain weight. However if the circle of friends is predominantly thin, then thinness might be contagious.
the finding is increasingly important because obesity has exploded worldwide and more so in America. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, data from two NHANES surveys show that among adults aged 20–74 years the prevalence of obesity increased from 15.0% (in the 1976–1980 survey) to 32.9% (in the 2003–2004 survey).
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including the following:
* Hypertension
* Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
* Type 2 diabetes
* Coronary heart disease
* Stroke
* Gallbladder disease
* Osteoarthritis
* Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
* Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
The current study has huge implications for public health according to lead authors, Nicholas Christakis, MD, PhD, and James Fowler, PhD. "We are not suggesting that people should sever their ties with overweight friends," Christakis clarified. "But we are suggesting that people are influenced by the behaviors of those around them, and if they're interested in losing weight, forming ties with people who are the proper weight is likely to be beneficial."
Obesity has fast assumed nightmarish proportions. So much so that it is being called a public health crisis. Eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle are important in tackling this crisis. Now it appears that maintaining good contacts with an active social circle might also help.
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