Obesity – Infectious?!

Now, here in today’s Deccan Herald we have some food for thought.  Obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus, researchers have reported on Wednesday. When one person gained weight, their close friends tended to gain weight, too.. … if one became obese, the other had a 171 per cent increased chance of becoming obese, too. The same effect seemed to occur for weight loss, the investigators say. But since most people were gaining, not losing, over the 32 years of the study, the result was an obesity epidemic.

…Friends are good for your overall health, he explains. So why not make friends with a thin person, he suggests, and let the thin person’s behaviour influence you and your obese friend?  

Back to the food (for thought, mind you!)

 Let’s assume you have a dear friend A, who is obese, or is putting on too much of weight these days. Now, being good hearted, you don’t want to lose A, but need some positive influence to shed off some extra ounces of weight, maybe influence your dear chum as well. You hunt for a skinny person and voila! Found B who is within your reach, is really skinny and is willing to be your friend.  

Kahani mein twist! Instead of you getting influenced by the skinny B, B starts getting influenced by both of you… and the result is sadly not what you had expected or had planned for L

Now what do you do? Abandon B and start hunting for another lean person? Damn my faulty memory – I forgot you were a good-hearted person. Okaay, guess the three of you go in search of another skinny person, hoping this time to find someone who is more determined to remain trim… (Ahem, Isn’t it much easier, time saving and rewarding for you yourself to remain determined, and make friends with whom you can share some psychological harmony?)

 I’m not saying that this research of over 32 years carries no meaning. The findings were actually interesting, sounded logical enough. It was only the bottom line that bothered me. Agreed, close friends, intimate relationships influence one other to a great extent. When your spouse starts putting on weight, it is only natural for you to feel thinner and relaxed, also possible for you to feel that an extra helping will not do much harm.  

So, instead of going in search of a lean figure to influence us, why can’t we persuade our own good selves? Say your very dear friend’s grammatically incorrect language has had a subconscious effect on you, and you’re not aware of it. Pray tell me, at least when the realization dawns on you, what do you do? Correct yourself, and correct your dear friend! Is it not possible to let this study itself be an eye opener, for us just be alert, and refuse to put on weight just because a close associate did?  

That said; please don’t tell me that any new friend you make will have to pass a “weighing balance test”, especially when you’re thinking of a cherished relationship. Otherwise we’ll have to re define friendship.