Save Yourself from “Catching” Obesity
There's a stomach bug going around Louisville.
Everywhere I turn I hear of another person who got sick. Must be contagious.
You know what else is contagious?
Obesity.
It's true. Overweight and obesity are contagious.
Crazy, right?
When you're around people with a cold or the flu, your chances are higher for getting that same cold or flu. Well, same goes with overweight and obesity!
If you're spending too much time around other people who are overweight or obese, you are likely to gain belly fat too!
I'm not saying by simply shaking someone's hand you're going to instantly inherent their body; however, if you spend an appreciable amount of time with people who live an unhealthy lifestyle, it's bound to rub off.
Here's the deal.
As part of the now famous Framingham Heart Study, the 12,000+ subjects were asked to provide a list of family members and one close friend. The patterns of weight gain over time in study participants, family, and friends were then analyzed.
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Interesting part
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When a person in the study became obese, there was a 40% increased risk their sibling would become obese too!
And for the spouse, there was a 37% increased risk.
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MOST SHOCKING RESULTS
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When your friend becomes obese, you have a 57% risk yourself!
And if your friend was of the same gender, that jumped to 71%!
Picture this — a few girlfriends sitting around, Friday night, chattin' away … drinking a little bit, snacking on some chocolate and cookies … hellooooo muffin top!
Some guys, getting together on a Sunday to watch the game, mindlessly chomping on some super fattening "guy food" … suddenly … "DUDE, where's my feet?" A comment normally only heard by women who are 9 months pregnant!
But get this — the researchers found that even friends who don't live near each other are out of luck!
SAVE YOURSELF FROM "CATCHING" OBESITY
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THE SOLUTION
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1. Spend less time doing inactive things with friends/family
2. Be the leader, not the follower — suggest and bring better foods to "get togethers"
3. Find new friends — join a local runnin' group if you run, a biking group if you cycle, or maybe a local outdoor club. It's a great way to meet new, like minded, active friends!
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January 9th, 2010 at 6:56 am
This may be why people believe so strongly in the genetic component of obesity.
If the parents are obese, it's more likely that the kids will be obese.
Part of the problem may be genetic, but another part of the problem is social
The parents have poor lifestyle habits, so the children have poor lifestyle habits
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January 9th, 2010 at 10:04 am
In the field of addiction, one of the many things that we teach our clients in treatment is that they need to change their "people, places, and playthings", in order to maintain sobriety and engage fully in recovery. So, it makes sense that if you want to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle that you need to surround yourself with people who support you and/or emulate the lifestyle that you want to create. Thanks for sharing these findings!
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January 9th, 2010 at 10:22 am
So that's the problem! Why do we live in a world where we want to blame everyone else for our issues. No matter what it is we have to look in the mirror. Because at the end of the day, life choices fall totally in our own lap. Muffin top or not.
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