Watch Out! Obesity's Contagious!



Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2008

by
The Slim Habit

If somebody said to you that obesity's contagious you'd think they were out of their mind, wouldn't you? I know I did when I first heard about it. But hang on there a minute, it's not as crazy as it sounds!

The nation is in the grip of an obesity crisis that is getting worse rather than better. Maybe there is something that we've been overlooking that's exacerbating the problem. What if obesity is contagious after all? Actually it is!

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, in San Diego have come up with the idea that obesity is contagious. Their conclusions come at the end of a long and detailed study. What they are actually saying is that there are social factors that contribute to obesity. This social dimension is alarming, but it could also offer some amazing opportunities too.

What has been discovered is that if you have a friend, sibling or spouse who is overweight, it raises your risk of being obese too. Researchers mapped social connections in order to confirm their conclusions.

If we are being honest with ourselves we probably understand these conclusions only too well. We all know that we like to be with people who share the same interests and similar social and cultural connections. So it is with being overweight or obese. We don't feel uncomfortable with people who look like us and have the same eating habits. In fact we actively seek out their company to reinforce our feeling of belonging.

This 'social effect' is in fact a form of mimicry. What we do is to mimic what others do. We copy their bad habits and they become our bad habits. We may do this unconsciously, but do it we do. Because of the company that we keep, there is no sanction or disapproval of our actions, in fact totally the opposite. You end up believing that it's okay to be overweight or obese because everybody else is.

What has happened is that the nation has changed its eating behavior. Over time it has become acceptable to overeat and to be overweight or obese.

The ingredients of fast foods, ready meals and soft drinks have had a massive impact on the size of the nation as well. Again we have developed bad habits as far as what we eat. We eat far too much salt, sugar and saturated fat and far too few vegetables and fruit.

Is it all bad news? Well, it doesn't have to be. If we start to recognize the reasons, actual and social, why we have become overweight or obese, there is hope. Once we increase our awareness we can do something about it.

What we need to do is to change our behavior. How? By learning new habits - slim habits. It's not difficult!

The most positive thing which could come out of this research is that if obesity is contagious, 'slimness' can be contagious too! Now there's a thought!

 

A well known speaker, author and commentator on weight loss and health, Henry John's particular interest is behavior change. He is a member of the Slim Habit team responsible for the Slim Habit weight loss program. Learn more about weight loss and behavior change and how to lose weight permanently by learning new habits - Slim Habits
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by straight talk
 3 years 109 days ago.
111 fans. Follow straight talk on twitter!
Yes I think they may have something. We tend to eat along with our associates. I suspect we can verify that by simply taking agood look.
» left by Henry John 3 years 109 days ago.
You're right Robert. If we start to 'notice', switch off our autopilot and become more aware we are all capable of taking control of our lives and making things happen...for us!
 
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