Social Networks for Serious Change: Making Health a Group Effort

Social Networks for Serious Change: Making Health a Group Effort

  Even in adulthood, peer pressure can be easy to      succumb to. We are all familiar with that desire to skip a workout or bypass a healthy meal due to the persistence of a coworker, family member or friend. 

But what if the popular choice was the healthy choice? What if there was a network in place that supported each of us instead of deterring us from reaching our wellness goals?

That is exactly what Dr. Miriam Nelson is doing with her StrongWomen Across America Tour. Nelson is traveling from Kenai, Alaska to Brodheadsville, PA and stopping in 8 towns along the way, to start ‘Change Clubs’ in communities she has previously visited. Think of it like a real live social network, one that connects like-minded individuals to not only make strides in improving their own health, but to incite change in their communities as well. 

The continuous rise in both childhood and adult obesity rates makes it clear that there is a need for change across America. But will starting social clubs really cause individuals to make healthier decisions? Results of past research certainly make the idea sound promising. An often-referenced 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine followed 12,067 people over the course of 32 years to determine if there was an association between an individual’s relationships and the spread of obesity. Researchers found a person’s chance of becoming obese raised 57% if that person had a friend who became obese, raised 40% if that person had sibling who became obese, and raised 37% if that person had a spouse who became obese. Men seemed to have a greater influence on men and women on women.

Following the reasoning that individuals in a social network can make each other gain weight, Nelson is creating Change Clubs to encourage individuals to lose weight, exercise more, and make their communities healthier environments for all residents. Some examples include offering healthier food at the concession stands in Choteau, Montana and starting nature walks in Kenai, Alaska.

When embarking on your own wellness plan, think of including your friends and family. Not only will you raise your chances of success, but you will also be teaching and helping them along the way. Even if you aren’t currently setting new health or activity goals, consider the idea of a change club in your community. Making progress on health can be a challenge, but we are always stronger as a team than when we stand alone.

For more information about the StrongWomen Tour or to start a change club of your own, please visit http://www.strongwomen.com/tour/.

How have you motivated colleagues, friends or family to adopt healthy habits? 

You Don't Need a Soda Ban to Cut Back on Sugary Calories

This ad may look familiar if you have been riding a New York City subway recently. Mayor Bloomberg’s focus on childhood and adult obesity is hard not to notice, and this campaign against the empty calories provided in sugar sweetened-beverages is definitely a step in the right direction. 

Unfortunately for Bloomberg, his efforts just took two steps back.  In late August, the USDA rejected the Mayor’s proposed plan to ban the use of food stamps, now known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, to purchase soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages in New York City. The ban was part of a two-year experiment that the Major had proposed as a way to fight the city’s increasing obesity epidemic.

Over 1.7 million New York City residents are on food stamps and 59.3% of New York City residents over 25 years old were obese as of 2009. But it is the inability to measure a relationship between those two figures that the USDA states as the reason why they denied the Mayor’s proposal. If we cannot measure change, how do we know our efforts are working?

But rather than focus on a need for a ban, why not instead consider what your grocery dollars go to towards rather than those sugary juices and sodas? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 20 people drinks the equivalent of 4 or more cans of soda per day. A 12-pack of 12-oz cans of Coca-Cola costs $5.29. * That breaks down to a cost of 0.44¢/can or a total of $1.76 for the 4 daily sodas. (In a typical vending machine, the cost increases to $1.00/can or $4.00 for your daily fix). 

Consider what else you could get in the grocery aisles for $1.76:

• 2 Granny Smith Apples (0.79¢ each)
• 1 box of Minute Brand Instant Brown Rice ($1.79 each)
• 1 10oz bag of Stop & Shop brand Spinach ($1.79 each)

Any of these choices will offer you a wealth of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that are lacking in the soda. And what are you missing out on? The 560 empty calories provided by the Coca-Cola. Even at $1.76 for 4 cans, that doesn’t sound like a bargain to me.

* Figure according to Peapod by Stop & Shop for the Boston-area