Fatness and Friendship, Part I: Why do They Often Go Hand in Hand?
Think of Obesity as a Kind of Flu That Goes Right to Your Waistline
Among the various explanations put forth for the current soaring obesity rates (fast foods, fructose, video games, etc.) the one that seems to be generating the most buzz in academic circles is “social contagion.” Very simply, that’s the premise that we tend to do the things that our friends and acquaintances do because they do them, especially when the majority of them are doing whatever it is.
If our friends are moody and sullen, we most likely will also be moody and sullen. If they’re serious sports fanatics, we’ll become likewise. And if they all adore junk food and eschew exercise and get fat, well, get ready to start buying a larger size.
But there is an alternative school of thought which endorses the birds-of-a-feather explanation of shared group behavior. Unlike social contagion, where the notion is that one or two group members become “infected” and spread the new behavior to the others, the “feather” concept is that people who are already disposed toward such-and-such behavior just naturally gravitate together and form a group. To use our weight example, the question for social scientists is: Are we fat because of our friends, or friends because of our fat? Depending on which studies you cite, you can make an argument either way.
Complicating the matter even further, one analysis of behavior patterns over time found that in the case of obesity, friends evidently influence one another’s behavior even when living hundreds of miles apart. Some feel this strengthens the contagionists’ cause, but others feel just the opposite. In reality, it just changes the basic question to: Do we stay close despite the distance because we’re both fat, or both fat because we stay close despite the distance?
These may seem like questions to which the obvious response is, “What difference does it make?” But if the behavior in question is obesity and one is looking for ways to reduce or reverse the spread thereof, it’s a fairly important distinction. If contagion is the driving force, you identify the trend-setters in the group, those who adopt new behaviors first, and focus on changing their attitudes toward weight. If, on the other hand, it’s the birds-of-a-feather principle at work, you have to tackle the behavior patterns of the group as a whole.
In light of our grim childhood obesity rates, we’d be well advised to find out which of these two dynamics we’re dealing with.
(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News):
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