Put Your Pals on a Diet

A new study suggests we are likely to be only as thin as the company we keep.

More on:

• Lose the Weight
• Get Motivated
• Friendship
• Mind & Body

It's the weight-loss craze that's sweeping the nation! After a recent New England Journal of Medicine study declared that people can actually "catch" obesity from close friends, health-conscious Americans are chucking their tubby pals in favor of thin people they don't like.

Okay, not exactly. But when researchers followed 12,067 people over 32 years, they concluded that those of us with very close friends who are obese have a 171% chance of becoming obese too. The theory goes like this: You're influenced by your friends, and if they overeat, you may unwittingly follow their lead.

Even geographical distance is no barrier, which means you can catch obesity over the phone. Surprisingly, spouses have less sway over the belly than close friends of the same sex.

The good news: It may also work in reverse. Hang out with thin people and you might lose weight.

From Reader's Digest - November 2007

 

• Beating the Urge to Eat
• Science offers new hope for a future without fat.
• 
• Take a Bite (a Small One)
• Can you outwit your weight?
• 
• Smaller Snack Attacks
• Downsizing is the newest food trend.
• 
• Weight-Loss Goals: Myth vs. Reality
• Create a realistic weight-loss goal and find success.
• 
• Easy Ways to Lose Weight: 50+ Ideas
• Look slimmer, feel trimmer!
• 

Sponsored Links