Are your friends making you fat?

I recently read a story in the New York Times titled “Are your friends making you fat” and I have to say, I loved it. I also posted the link on my Wellness Workdays Facebook Page directing people to the article. I am a true believer of positive reinforcement. I read the article and I kept thinking, finally … research to support this concept! I have always tried to encourage clients to surround themselves with people who are positive, active, healthy and now the research is there to support it!

The article reads… : “By analyzing the Framingham data (note: more data from Framingham. Wow! It never ends), Christakis and Fowler say, they have for the first time found some solid basis for a potentially powerful theory in epidemiology: that good behaviors — like quitting smoking or staying slender or being happy — pass from friend to friend almost as if they were contagious viruses. The Framingham participants, the data suggested, influenced one another’s health just by socializing. And the same was true of bad behaviors — clusters of friends appeared to “infect” each other with obesity, unhappiness and smoking. Staying healthy isn’t just a matter of your genes and your diet, it seems. Good health is also a product, in part, of your sheer proximity to other healthy people.”

As I consider this, I realize that I also practice this myself… In college, I had several friends who I would work out with regularly at the various Cornell facilities or gyms around campus. In grad school, I often found myself walking to Columbia Univ. (120th street) from 88th street, where I lived with a friend or two to squeeze in some activity in an otherwise tight, working / grad school schedule. Bringing it forward, my husband is a vegetarian who loves working out and my friends and I often have dinner parties where we each bring a healthy dish (with some yummy desserts of course!) to one another’s house rather than going to a restaurant with lots of oversized portions and meals laden with sugar, salt and fat! Weekends, we are often with the kids, hiking at some Trustees (of Reservations) properties with friends.

Of course, I am not suggesting you run out and dump any negative influencers in your life as I have done. Just kidding!! I would not do that! We all hit some lows in life and need the support of good friends with big hearts. But, just take a moment to think about who you surround yourself with on a daily basis. Are they helping you reach your goals or quietly sabotaging them? The reality is that we all have our ups and downs, but making a decision to lead a healthier life might not be enough. It seems that we need to make the decision and surround ourselves with (at least) a few others who feel the same way.