Is Obesity Contagious?
If the answer to this question is yes, what a ripple effect it could have. Amazingly, the results of a research published in the Journal JAMA Pediatrics, March 12, 2018, gives a positive response to the above question. Could an increase in body mass index be transferred from person to the person like chicken pox?
Contagious diseases are diseases that can be transferred from one person to the next through contact with a diseased person or contact with the secretions or fluid from the diseased.
How does this research arrive at the results?
The study was conducted on military families assigned to a particular region. They found out that families assigned to an area where the majority of the population were obese or thin passed through changes in their physical form to conform to their new places of residence.
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Picture By Maryland GovPics Flickr(CC BY 2.0)
Though the specifics of the 'how' remains unclear, the study conducted on thirty-eight military units spread across the United States sought to find out if body mass index, BMI and the chances of being obese or thin increased with exposure to an obese or thin population.
1519 families were studied, and at the end of the almost year-long study, the body mass index was found to increase or decrease in relation to the average weight of the population where the military installation was located.
The finding speculated that the results might be attributed to social factors. Moving to a new environment means meeting new people with a different social life and habits one might inculcate unintentionally to fit in.
This could affect choices in relocation, length of stay and habits as the researchers also tied the duration of stay to the degree of obesity.
References
- Ashlesha Datar, Nancy Nicosia. Assessing Social Contagion in Body Mass Index, Overweight, and Obesity Using a Natural Experiment. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2668504?redirect=true
- Karen Kaplan. Military families bolster the case that obesity is indeed contagious. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from, http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-obesity-contagious-army-20180123-story.html
- Wikipedia. Contagious disease. Retrieved April 11, 2018, from, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagious_disease
Originally Published on STEEMNEWS.ONLINE
The answer is YES! Like anything, whether it be reading, playing sports, smoking, eating...if your peer circles does it, it's most likely you'll be doing it to. Path of least resistance. If you don't want to be fat, time to find new friends or get healthy together.
No kidding? :-o
Well, in a way, we tend to take in a number of things from our interactions with people. I'd probably get fatter if i live with someone who's obese. I find it hard to believe it's contagious though, just a function of how their lifestyle influences you.
Lol, true.
That's what the 'contagious' means.
I think that there is a social aspect to this. When you are part of a group or family that is overweight it is easy to fall into similar habits and to become complacent. Those who eat together feel happiness together and it can become very easy to lose sight of your situation and health.
True and it's an aspect we don't really consider.
"families assigned to an area where the majority of the population were obese or thin passed through changes in their physical form to conform to their new places of residence."
This part of your statement contradicts the question, because from the obvious the human body's configuration is rather subject to environment more than anything. Obesity is more generic than contagious, if you look at the Japanese they hardly get obese due to one or two reasons ranging from their diet and other stuff. So no matter how many obese people are introduced to that area it kind of changes nothing: the human physical structure is only about 15% subject to external factors, the rest is all about the internal inner-workings.
Al the same, I find this topic and observation to be an interesting one.
That's why it's posed as a question. It's still under research.
The topic is quite misleading tho. This is why it’s important to read articles to the end. But imagine obesity was contagious like diseases 😂
Yeah, they're still exploring this subject tho
Interesting post. First time I read about that possibility. It is a topic that would be worth investigating further. Thanks for sharing.
thanks for reading
I read about that. Makes you wonder just how much we do subconsciously adapt to surroundings. I find it amazing how the mind can influence so much and many times we aren't even aware.
True. They just subtly become a part of us.
To the question in your title, my Magic 8-Ball says:
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