Is obesity contagious?
updated the 14 July 2015 à 18:33Researchers at Harvard University have addressed this question, with surprising results. Read on…
Obesity – i.e. being significantly overweight – is a global epidemic. We always speak about food that is too rich, the lack of physical activity and genetic predispositions. But are other explanations also possible?
IS IT A CONTAGIOUS DISEASE?
This is the question to which Nicholas Christakis and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School wanted to find the answer to. Over the course of 32 years, these researchers followed more than 12,000 people, as well as 37,000 of their friends, close relationships and neighbours. They studied the weight evolution for each individual in parallel to their relationships. The results of this study are surprising. The researchers noticed that the friends of an obese person have an increased risk of 57 % of becoming obese themselves. This figure rises to 70 % if it is a friend of the same sex, and to 71 % if it is a best friend. The siblings of an obese person see their risk of developing obesity increase by 40%, and by 37 % for a spouse.
OBESE BY IMITATION?
This study sheds light on the link between social relationships and the global obesity epidemic. Two explanations were provided by the researchers. The first is that of contagion by imitation. Members of the same family tend to exhibit the same behaviour and have similar lifestyles. Nevertheless, the results remain identical even when families are geographically separated. We speak then about a drift in standards; whereby a person changes their size perception. In this case, getting fat is not a problem because the people he/she loves are overweight or obese too. This is proof that affection can unfortunately seriously damage the health, as weight gain becomes quickly uncontrollable and increases the risk of numerous illnesses.
AN “ANTI-OBESE” PREJUDICE?
If this kind of study is important in understanding the evolution of the obesity epidemic, it could also create stress. Instead of stigmatizing obese people or avoiding them due to the “fear of catching their disease”, it is also important to remember that the surrounding is an essential ally to improving their lives. Close relationships can motivate the person concerned to move, to help him/her find a better food balance, to support him/her, and so on…
Maureen Diament
