A Multiplication Chart That Goes To 30

YOUR FRIENDS CAN MAKE YOU FAT

seems funny to hear that it is "contagious." The human being is a social being and therefore always need to be linked with others. The people around us, family and friends play an important role in our eating habits.

say that obesity is contagious may seem exaggerated and, moreover, contributes to the stigmatization of already relegated 'chubby'. But a study published earlier this year in 'The New England Journal of Medicine' has shaken the scientific community by showing that the tendency to add kilos on the scales lying between the social environment of obese following a similar pattern of infectious diseases. Research shows that genes play a role but are less culpable for the escalation of obesity than previously thought. Instead, experts are hopeful because maybe preventive strategies, education and treatment to alleviate this public health problem can spread through social ties and have a positive multiplier effect.

So when you walk with people pessimistic for example, you catch something of his personality, when you're with people who have a habit of "eating well", ie those who are overweight, you're taking may parameters and customs similar to theirs. This is not to pretend that there was any discrimination or something like it, but to engage in with these friends, an exchange of views for the meetings are of various kinds and not just "have to take something to the mouth."

When a person gains weight, those close to them are at much greater risk of starting to get fat too. Thus, the excess kilos and obesity spread relentlessly, building on the framework family ties and social as you would a virus.

study
The authors of the amazing research chose a segment of the sample participating in the Framingham study, a large epidemiological monitoring as part since 1948, all inhabitants of the American people that names to work.

In total, we analyzed a sample of more than 12,000 people, with special attention to the progression of his family connections, social and labor. Thus it was found, roughly, to have a friend 'chubby' increases the chances of gaining weight by 57%; 40% if a sibling who becomes obese and 37% if the spouse. Moreover, if the friendship is very close and bilateral (ie both parties are considered close friends), the number soars to 171% . Among siblings, the phenomenon is more pronounced when it comes to same sex, especially if they are girls. Finally, the propensity to obesity does not manifest among neighbors, even though they live in close proximity.

"Our work suggests that obesity can spread through social networks in a quantifiable and predictable pattern that depends on the nature of such ties. Moreover, social distance seems to be more important than strictly geographical in this sense, "the authors conclude the curious up.

Very important

So where to begin to educate? Despite the importance that experts concede to school, they have no doubts: the training work should begin in the family, which is the nucleus where an individual develops their behavior (but then the profiles in groups outside the unit).

rule, the woman is who does the shopping and food, or at least, is organized by the basket of food and menus, so fortunately or unfortunately the women play a fundamental role in the transformation that we must undertake if we are to reverse the current trend to continue gaining weight.

Source:

The New England Journal of Medicine. July 2007

Ms. Carmela Fernandini

Artola