Is Obesity Contagious?
Some scholars say yes. According to recent research, having one friend become obese – even if they live a thousand miles away – nearly triples your likelihood of also becoming obese! Interesting stuff! Maybe we should start buying our friends gym memberships instead of taking them out to dinner or bringing cookies into the office!
I actually saw Dr. Christakis, professor at Harvard University, give a talk on this last year at Dartmouth. The data was quite compelling and more than a little bit frightening for those of us who like to think of ourselves as being in control of our own destinies.
Beware of these results. They are based on a statistical model that has been under a lot of criticism. Researchers testing the model also found, for example that height is contagious, as well as headaches. For an overview of criticism, check out my recent blog posting
http://sociograph.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-obesity-contagious-review-of-debate.html