Believe it or not, that was the conclusion drawn by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, in San Diego. Basically, they think that having a friend, sibling or spouse who is overweight raises a person’s risk of being obese as well. From the BBC article:
Author Professor Nicholas Christakis said: “It’s not that obese or non-obese people simply find other similar people to hang out with.
“Rather, there is a direct, causal relationship. What appears to be happening is that a person becoming obese most likely causes a change of norms about what counts as an appropriate body size.
“People come to think that it is OK to be bigger since those around them are bigger, and this sensibility spreads.”
Hmm, so it’s more of an acceptance thing rather than a dietary thing. Still, it’s a very interesting study on the subject of obesity.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Alamak, i got to find more bigger man around me so I’ll be big too
July 30th, 2007 at 11:56 am
papajoneh: How much do you weigh currently?