It isn’t really news that there is a relationship between the weight of those around us and us. I have read many articles making this correlation, suggesting that if your close friends and family are obese, you’re more likely to be obese too.
Why this is the case is not as clear as the fact that it is the case. Is it due to “shared norms, common behavior or just similar environments”?
An article entitled How Obesity Spreads in Social Networks from May of this year looked at a study that suggested that it’s not all about social attitudes, although that did account for 20% of it.
Researchers were interested in finding out more about what accounted for this 20%. While there were limitations to the study and the authors realized how hard it is to measure social norms, they found 3 roles in which friends might play a role: 1. People behaving in a similar manner; 2. People not behaving in the same way and not even internalizing the same ideas yet their behaviors being shaped by their friends; 3; just constantly being around overweight or obese friends vs a real relationship of any sort.
Besides social norms, another possibility is what they call the “‘Would you like to see the dessert menu?’”phenomenon, which refers to looking at behaviors and mimicking/socially determined behaviors vs held beliefs. The phenomenon was dubbed such, using the example of people waiting to see if others are going to order dessert and passing or getting it based on what others do, and people being more likely to ask for a dessert menu/order dessert if someone else asks first.
They also looked at the environment, but found that while environment plays a role, it’s not the cause because an obese individual living in the same area, and thus having the same access to the same restaurants or things like hiking trails, does not correlate to you being obese, but friends or family’s weight, no matter how far away they live, does.
Besides social norms, another possibility is what they call the “‘Would you like to see the dessert menu?’”phenomenon, which refers to looking at behaviors and mimicking/socially determined behaviors vs held beliefs. The phenomenon was dubbed such, using the example of people waiting to see if others are going to order dessert and passing or getting it based on what others do, and people being more likely to ask for a dessert menu/order dessert if someone else asks first.
They also looked at the environment, but found that while environment plays a role, it’s not the cause because an obese individual living in the same area, and thus having the same access to the same restaurants or things like hiking trails, does not correlate to you being obese, but friends or family’s weight, no matter how far away they live, does.
Another potential cause could be genetics, something they want to research further.
These results have implications for public health, indicating that changing what people think is not enough and might not matter much at all in changing behavior. What factors do matter are complex and not completely understood, especially because people often know what to do yet can’t actually put it into action.
These results have implications for public health, indicating that changing what people think is not enough and might not matter much at all in changing behavior. What factors do matter are complex and not completely understood, especially because people often know what to do yet can’t actually put it into action.
While 20% is not much, researchers still believe that targeting social norms could have a big effect in the fight against obesity. It also seems easier for people to adjust than to make an overhaul to their diet and workout routine.
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