Is Someone In Your Inner Circle Making You Fat?
One of the most highly-publicized clinical trials in recent history was published last month in The New England Journal of Medicine. The results of the study, conducted by Dr. Nicholas Christakis at Harvard Medical School and his colleague Dr. James Fowler at the University of California San Diego, suggest that obesity is spread among people having close relationships with one another.
Several thousand people in Massachusetts were studied over a 32-year period. Those who had a very close friend, a sibling or a spouse who became obese had a better chance of becoming obese than those who did not have a close relationship with someone who became obese. The risk increased by 30-60%, in fact!
This is not to suggest that obesity is spread in some kind of communicable way, although the authors did not totally dismiss that possibility. Rather, the research supports the idea that our social network - those people who are closest to us emotionally - influences whether or not we gain large amounts of weight.
The paper also gives several possible explanations for how this might occur. It's not that our obese friends, siblings or spouses "talk us into" gaining weight. The authors propose instead that we become more comfortable with the idea of obesity by having someone who becomes obese in our inner circle to observe closely. We may begin adopting some of the behaviors that may lead to obesity, such as overeating or not exercising. In this way, obesity "spreads" throughout a social network.
In addition to the subject of this clinical trial, the way it was conducted is interesting.
Did the researchers decide to start studying obesity in these people over 30 years ago and then collect data on them, including who their close friends, siblings and spouses were, as well as what those friends, siblings and spouses weighed? No. Instead, they used data available from an ongoing study that is decades old. Known as the Framingham Study because it began with individuals who lived in Framingham, Massachusetts, the original purpose was to study heart conditions in a large, connected population. That clinical trial generated a huge database of information on the medical status and progress of thousands of individuals including, of course, their weight. But how did Drs. Christakis and Fowler get the information on the individuals’ friends, siblings and spouses? The Framingham Study asked participants for information on family members as well as for a contact person who was not family. That contact person was considered to be a close friend.
I find it fascinating that this timely, topical piece of research was made possible entirely with existing information from people who volunteered for a completely different clinical trial, years ago.
Several thousand people in Massachusetts were studied over a 32-year period. Those who had a very close friend, a sibling or a spouse who became obese had a better chance of becoming obese than those who did not have a close relationship with someone who became obese. The risk increased by 30-60%, in fact!
This is not to suggest that obesity is spread in some kind of communicable way, although the authors did not totally dismiss that possibility. Rather, the research supports the idea that our social network - those people who are closest to us emotionally - influences whether or not we gain large amounts of weight.
The paper also gives several possible explanations for how this might occur. It's not that our obese friends, siblings or spouses "talk us into" gaining weight. The authors propose instead that we become more comfortable with the idea of obesity by having someone who becomes obese in our inner circle to observe closely. We may begin adopting some of the behaviors that may lead to obesity, such as overeating or not exercising. In this way, obesity "spreads" throughout a social network.
In addition to the subject of this clinical trial, the way it was conducted is interesting.
Did the researchers decide to start studying obesity in these people over 30 years ago and then collect data on them, including who their close friends, siblings and spouses were, as well as what those friends, siblings and spouses weighed? No. Instead, they used data available from an ongoing study that is decades old. Known as the Framingham Study because it began with individuals who lived in Framingham, Massachusetts, the original purpose was to study heart conditions in a large, connected population. That clinical trial generated a huge database of information on the medical status and progress of thousands of individuals including, of course, their weight. But how did Drs. Christakis and Fowler get the information on the individuals’ friends, siblings and spouses? The Framingham Study asked participants for information on family members as well as for a contact person who was not family. That contact person was considered to be a close friend.
I find it fascinating that this timely, topical piece of research was made possible entirely with existing information from people who volunteered for a completely different clinical trial, years ago.
~Joe
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: obesity, friends, clinical trials, health and wellness
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