My Opinion: Obesity is Contagious?

Firstly, I would like to say that this is a gross misuse of the word "contagious," and to me the study seems to be anecdotal science at best.

Perhaps the article should have began: Bad habits can "spread from person to person, much like a virus, researchers are reporting today. When a person gains weight, close friends tend to gain weight, too."

Consider the following paragraphs, and how they fail to support the word choice "contagious":

There was no effect when a neighbor gained or lost weight, however, and family members had less influence than friends.

Proximity did not seem to matter: the influence of the friend remained even if the friend was hundreds of miles away. And the greatest influence of all was between mutual close friends. There, if one became obese, the odds of the other becoming obese were nearly tripled.

If "contagion" in the true sense was a concern, then wouldn't proximity matter? If only genetics were to blame, then family members would have more, not less, influence than friends. Contagion, hardly. Think instead of influence.

Our parents might have been on to something (shocking!) when they were concerned about whether or not we were hanging out with the wrong crowd. They did not want us becoming desensitized to the other teens' bad habits: smoking, drinking, &c. In the case of gaining weight, perhaps the bad habits off less fit friends that are easy to assume would be larger portion sizes, snacking, extra helpings, and tempting but unhealthy food choices. People who are friends with each other tend to share common interests which are reinforced through shared experiences. If you're trying to become healthier and spending a lot of time with an unfit friend whose favorite activities include watching a videos or playing x-box, it wouldn't be surprising if you gained weight. This influence works both ways. A client mentioned that one of the pluses of her work environment was that her coworkers are fit and like to partake in group activities such as kayaking, hiking, and sports.

So don't panic when you read the headline about obesity being contagious. If obesity was truly a matter of infection and not the result of more complicated factors, wouldn't doctors, dietitians & nutritionists, and personal trainers be the first to fall ill? If you have friends who are obese don't worry about catching obesity from them, but be open to exposing them your positive influence and healthy lifestyle choices. Fitness and health can be catchy too.

I've highlighted some parts of the article (which I've included in its entirety following this post) that are interesting.