Are your friends making you fat?

BE CAREFUL whom you hang out with - your friends can make you fat. Researchers have found that the company you keep has a huge influence on the size of your waistline.

The study, by the Harvard Medical School and the University of California, found that if a person becomes obese, those closely connected to him or her have a greater chance of becoming obese themselves - even if they live far apart.

The study, which involved more than 12,000 people over 32 years and was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that obesity is "socially contagious", spreading from person to person, but does not affect neighbours and colleagues who are not friends.

If your friend becomes obese, the researchers found, your chances of becoming obese go up 57 per cent.

Individuals in same-sex friendships experience a 71 per cent increased risk if one becomes obese. Between two brothers, the risk rises 44 per cent; between sisters, 67 per cent.

If one spouse becomes obese, the likelihood for the other increases 37 per cent.

But blaming friends and family for your burgeoning stomach is a cop-out, says Dr Louise Hardy, of the NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity at the University of Sydney. "I would hate to see these findings used by people to say, 'I don't want a fat friend or I might catch obesity,"' she said yesterday.

"Obesity is complex and has many partners. Rather than just looking at social networks, we need a collaborative approach which looks at urban planning, public transport, housing and the food industry. We don't want obese people stigmatised further by these findings."

But Professor Ian Caterson, of the University of Sydney, said the findings could be used to encourage people to seek social networks where being overweight was unacceptable.

"We've already seen this with smoking and if we get to the point where obesity is socially unacceptable and people find alternative friends who encourage them to maintain a healthy weight, this kind of study could become a new way of combating the problem."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/why-fat-is-a-friendship-issue/2007/07/26/1185339116365.html

I agree with this to an extent - you can be easily led into the habits of your friends. For me, moving to Sydney, AWAY from my friends was a bit help in losing weight. I have established a whole new network of friends who either are or have been on the same mission as me. We are a bunch of gym junkies! It makes all the difference being surrounded by people who 90% of the time make a real effort to eat healthily and exercise regularly. Even if I am out for a few drinks, my choices have changed. I now drink white wine, champas or vodka lime and soda. No more bourbon which was the drink of choice of most of my mates in Melbourne.