In a study of 12,067 individuals and 38,611 of their friends and relatives it was determined that fat people have fat friends and family. OK - more than that. They discovered what they believe is an actual causal relationship.
It goes without saying that fat people might have fat friends and family. Family members might share the same genetics, the same upbringing, the same environment, fondness for the same types of foods, and would likely have the same instruction and examples from their parents growing up.
Overweight people having overweight friends is also something that on the face of it would seem obvious to me. It's not like someone who is seriously morbidly obese is going to be hanging out with all the athletes and fitness fanantics (or more to the point, visa versa). Anyone who has been there knows the stigma of being overweight. Those who discriminate against folks who are overweight are likely to not want to have them as their closest buds. Let's face it.
But supposedly this study, conducted by Harvard Medical School and the University of California has factored all that into their study, and has determined that there is a causal relationship actually in effect. One person in the study gets heavier and as a result their friend is likely to get heavier too. According to this study, in same sex friendships, where one person put on weight, the other is 71% more likely to put on weight as well. I wonder if it is in part that people tend to have friends their own age and folks at certain ages tend to put on weight (women have babies, men get too busy at work for softball and regular excercise,...).
If the study is correct, I guess it all goes to the power of influence we all have. I would imagine we all don't even have an inkling about how much we influence others. As a general statement, I would bet that even those that are beyond our immediate sphere of influence are affected by us, and may have never even met us before!!
We all know this at some level (conscious or unconscious). Just look at how concerned parents are when their kids starts running with kids who might not be a positive influence on them! And how happy we are when they are with really good kids (well behaved, successful, positive, happy, well adjusted, respectful, etc). This is especially true when they start dating and begin shopping around for a husband or wife (times a thousand)!!
I know that when I meet someone who tells me about an exciting new movie, or a good new restaurant, or some new activity that is really working for them I pay attention - and if it makes sense I might even jump in and try it (for better or worse). This is especially true of folks who are enthusiastic and have alot of facts and reasons to back up thier arguments.
At work we recently worked for a couple of months with a couple people who were rabidly enthusiastic about the Apple Macintosh laptop computers. It wasn't long before we were plotting on how we could buy one. As a result (in this one example) I believe that the wives of at least two of my coworkers (who met and listened to the Mac-o-Philes/Mac-Vangelists) now enjoy computing on Macs instead of PC's! All as a result of the exposure of my team to the influence of these two fired-up people. Hey, as a result... I'd LOVE to get one for myself!! :sigh:
Before I started eating low carb I watched a bunch of folks go on diet after diet. When someone was particularly effective I would ask what they were doing. It peaked my initial interest in this low carb way of losing weight, eating, and living. They included a couple of folks at work, my very own brother, and a new doctor I met due to some health circumstances. So even I am here where I am as a result of the influence of others.
Once I started losing weight I was waiting for someone to notice. Nobody did for a long time. I lost 10 lbs. Nothing. 20 lbs - Zip! It took some fairly longish time for the very first people to notice. That is probably on account of how large I was to start with (Around 410 lbs). A big giant overweight fellow. When you start out lsoing weight being that heavy, as a percentage it probably takes a bit more weight loss to be noticeable to others. When you do something like this - you do actually WANT to have your weight loss at least noticed by others!! And it is awesome to actually think about potentially having some influence on others in a positive way too! To be able to help others move towards better health and a better life!
In a few months (November) I will be a year into this and I am about 89 lbs down now and I am really only just starting to get lots of comments from folks at church, at work, and who just know me casually. It is so refreshing to hear folks ask me about my weight loss - FINALLY!! :smile: I have a very long way to go. I may be doing this for another couple years before I hit GOAL/rock bottom (if the Lord tarries and allows me to live that long).
Hopefully, I will be able to have the same positive influence on my family, friends, coworkers, church members, and acquaintences as well! And hopefully some of the great new changes I have made in my life over this past year will also be something to encourage others to give Atkins or low carb life a try!! Today I am aware that a brother in-law has gone on the program, and my brother has reportedly restarted after getting off the plan for a bit. Who'd a thunk it?
IHT report on the Harvard Medical School and University of CA study:
2 comments:
I saw something the other day that said that thin people are more prone to illness if they even look at fat people. It was article that said thin people are so repulsed by fat people that it actually sets off some kind of immuno-response.
I'm kind of worried about these recent "studies." I know that there's a move to make Americans get fit. But at what length? Fat is contagious? Being fat can make other people sick? Exactly what is it that "scientists" are trying to prove?
Oh yeah.. I've always believed it was my friends fault that I was fat. *eyeroll* I'm having a hard time swallowing this study. So what are they saying here.. we should hang out with "skinny" friends so we'll eat right and lose weight? Not the way it works. I have lots of skinny friends and their eating habits haven't helped me a bit.
Off topic: I've tagged you for a meme. If you wanna play along you can check it out here.
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