Whether you want to believe it or not your circle of friends have a lot of influence over you. Think about who you hang out with the most. Chances are they are very similar to you in age, values, financial status, education... Many times our friends are really just a reflection of ourselves.
Can this phenomenon include your health as well? A study in the New England Journal of Medicine is claiming this is so. In fact it looks like obesity is almost contagious and can spread like a virus. It is no wonder that we are facing an obesity epidemic. Obesity can pass from one person to the next.
This study followed a very large social network of people. They observed relationships between friends, family members, and neighbors. They followed obesity trends between different social networks. For example if one person gained weight would it have an impact on any of their networks. What the researchers found was that friends were the most influential. When one person would gain weight, they would see a common trend. The friends of that person would start to gain weight. Even when friends didn't live in close proximity to each other they would still witness this occurrence. They concluded that when a friend becomes obese it increases your chance of becoming obese by 57%. Whether your friend live down the street or across the country it will still have the same effect on you. If it is a very close friend that is obese you increase your chance to 71%. 
This study just reinforces how influenced we are by our friends. The study found some similar effects with family members, but nothing like the obesity link between friends. This really isn't too surprising though. When I think about some of my clients I see this exact thing. I have had many clients come to me saying they needed to lose weight for a school reunion or other social gathering of friends, but I have not seen many who say they need to lose weight for Thanksgiving or other holiday when they get together with their family. I'm sure there are some out there who want to but I just don't see it as much. 
The bottom line is this though. You have the power to help fight obesity and help your friends get in shape. If we know friends are the most influential it should work both ways. If you have a friend lose 20lbs or you lose weight, you will probably start to see your friends follow you. If obesity is contagious then maybe being fit and healthy can be too. There is only one way to find out. If you need to lose a few pounds try and get that weight off. Then see if some of your friends start to follow along. You can help America get back into shape. You Stay Healthy San Diego,
Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
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