Choose Your Friends Wisely

Researchers from the now-famous Framingham Study (which has been ongoing since 1948) found that when a subject became obese, his or her friends were 57% more likely to become obese, too!

And even more astonishing, a study subject was 20% more likely to become obese if the friend of a friend became obese — even if the connecting friend didn’t gain any weight. And, and…a person’s obesity risk increased about 10% even if a friend of a friend of a friend gained weight!

Yikes! Are we really that influenced by the company we keep…and the company our friends keep? Take a look at some of the other things researchers have found. Our chance of smoking cigarettes increases by 36% if a friend smokes. Not surprisingly drinking, happiness & loneliness are also spread among social groups.

What if your husband or wife starts packing on the pounds? Are you also doomed to be overweight? The risk does increase by 37%, but it actually doubles for same sex friends. It appears that we compare ourselves to people of the same sex when it comes to body image. For example, if a man becomes fat, his female friends/siblings are completely unaffected and visa versa (except for the poor spouse).

Remember: You are the sum total of the 5 people you spend the most time with. If you want to be fit, hang out with fit people; if you want to be successful, hang out with successful people; and if you want to be happy, hang out with happy people. Most of us are connected to > 1,000 people within 3 degrees. Think about all the people we can affect by the individual choices we make in our lives. Give the ultimate gift by being the best you can be and creating a contagious example. Limit your exposure to that friend who likes to get together for a fun-filled evening of bitching & moaning, while eating unhealthy food. If you don’t “catch” it, you’ll, at least, be incredibly annoyed!

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