I wonder, will this study put a new spin on the phrase: ‘With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Results from a recent federally funded study suggest that even if your friends and family live far away, if they become obese, chances are you will too. Ok…what are the odds, you ask? Well, if your close friend is obese, you’re chances of ‘catching’ obesity go up 57%. In the very closest of friendships, the risk almost tripled. The surprise is that this percentage is significantly higher for friends than siblings or spouses (40% and 37% respectively). "We were stunned to find that friends who are hundreds of miles away have just as much impact on a person's weight status as friends who are right next door," said co-author James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego.
The study was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the National Institute on Aging.
Researchers analyzed medical records of people in the Framingham Heart Study, which has been following the health of residents of that Boston suburb for more than a half century. They tracked records for relatives and friends using contact information that participants (12,067 in all) provided each time they were examined over a 32-year period.
Social ties apparently had more of an influence than genetics. The researchers calculated that, on average, when an obese person gained 17 pounds, the corresponding friend put on an extra 5 pounds. Natural weight gain and other factors were taken into account. Geography and smoking cessation had no effect on obesity risk. Gender also had a strong influence. In same-sex friendships, a person's obesity risk increased by 71 percent if a friend gained weight.
At first glance, it’s reasonable to simply thing that people who are overweight have similar eating and exercise habits. But indications are that there’s more to it, and that if your relatives and friends are obese your concept of what is ‘an acceptable weight’ changes.
Researchers say that, potentially, more effective way to help the obese may be to treat people in groups instead of just the individual.
"Because people are interconnected, their health is interconnected," said lead author Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a Harvard sociologist.
Will some people feel discouraged with this new information and be tempted to abdicate their individual responsibility for their weight? People already blame each other for passing on the common cold! I can just see a new kind of finger pointing from the fallout of ‘socially contagious’ obesity: “Don’t blame me for me being fat, I caught it from you!”
Well, don’t diss or ditch your friends just yet. “The last thing that you want to do is get rid of any of your friends," says Fowler." There is a ton of research that suggests that having more friends makes you healthier.”
You don’t need a new set of friends, but you may want a foster a new perspective. When making , it's important to become more aware of your surroundings, relationships and attitudes. But, at the end of the day, it's still up to you to concentrate on YOUR actions and YOUR choices for , regardless of what anyone else does. And who knows? Maybe your friends and family will 'be infected' with motivation, too!
By Laura Brooks
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"What people think of me is none of my business" - Anonymous
I love that quote. It resonates with me, because even at 50, I struggle with it. Much less so than when I was younger, but the push and gravitational pull of others expectations can be very powerful.
One of the biggest insecurities we have is often associated with how our body stacks up to what we perceive to be an accepted standard of beauty. This unrealistic comparison can do many of us in. However, building a better body image is paramount if we’re going to begin down the road to healthy weight loss.
Changing a and learning to be comfortable and content in our bodies is possible when we understand how we’ve learned to judge ourselves based on criteria that is impossible to achieve.
“A negative body image interferes with weight loss,” says Mimi Francis, MSN, behavioral health therapist at Green Mountain at Fox Run. “When our motivation to lose weight is appearance, it doesn’t hold up. It works against us because we get depressed. We think we have too far to go, or things aren’t changing quickly enough. When we compare ourselves to others, we’re likely to give up right then.”
“Other people’s comments hurt the most when they fit with what we already believe about ourselves,” says Teri Hirss, MEd, therapist in health psychology at Green Mountain. “It’s up to us to choose whether we’re going to take on what others say, or brush it off and get on with living our lives the way we want to.”
Here’s by Sophis Dembling, of the Dallas Morning News, on this very topic - how bonding over poor body image is a no-win proposition.
Excerpt from:
The Skinny On 'Fat Talk' - It's A Way To Bond, But Is It Healthy?
"Guys know better.
When the woman in their life asks, "Do I look fat?" guys respond, "Gosh, I love you more every day, honey," or "Now would be a great time for me to start painting the kitchen, don't you think?" or, "Hey, is that a UFO up there?" Anything to avoid fat talk.
For women, however, fat talk is social currency."
Read more
Remember the old expression 'life is a bowl of cherries'? Well, eating cherries can also make for a . Cherries are a good source of potassium, a nutrient that may help to control blood pressure and reduce the risk for hypertension and stroke (source: ). So dig in! They're in season until the end of August.
Smoked turkey, tangy mango and tart cherries make this a mouth-watering summer salad extravaganza!
Makes 4 servings
12 ounces smoked turkey, sliced
2 cups Northwest fresh sweet cherries, pitted
1 mango,* pared and sliced
1 kiwi fruit, sliced
1 cup Napa cabbage, shredded
Spicy Dressing
Arrange turkey, cherries, mango and kiwi fruit on shredded Napa cabbage. Drizzle Spicy Dressing over salad.Spicy Dressing: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 clove crushed garlic until hot but not smoking; cool and remove garlic. Add 2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon each honey and hot dry mustard** and ½ tsp each ground ginger and salt; mix well. Makes about 1/3 cup.
* One large nectarine may be substituted for mango.
**One tablespoon of your favorite mustard may be substituted.
For more healthy recipes check out the other delicious recipes listed on this blog or visit
AFP - Blame it on your friends: a new study out Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine has concluded that obesity is a socially contagious phenomenon.