Overweight young adults and social Clusters

Heavier young adults tend to hang out with and date other people with overweight.
Although this research doesn't seem to be inherently shocking, the study shows a promotion of sub-finding--overweight young adults have more social contacts are trying to lose weight and more intentions to lose weight.
Study author, Dr. Tricia M. Leahey, assistant professor of Psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School, said the findings support previous research that health behaviour and their results, "cluster" within social networks.
The study included 151 participants of normal weight, overweight or obese and 137 men and women. Participants completed questionnaires about their weight, height, the number of overweight social contacts and their perceived social norms for overweight and obesity-related behavior.
Previous research by Harvard Medical School has found that a person chance to obese 57% if a friend becomes obese, 40% if a brother or sister is obese and 37 percent increases if a spouse is obese.
Despite this, Leahey and her team discovered that,

as overweight young adults have more social contacts trying to lose weight, they have larger intentions to lose weight.

Why did those who had social contacts try to lose weight that they tried to lose itself? Leahey says social standards to lose weight, such as promotion of others and their approval for weight loss, account for the Association.
Researchers are not sure or overweight people find other people who are overweight, or or normal weight people who are friends with people who are overweight become put on weight.
Leahey suggests that it probably is both. People who are overweight tend to attract each other, but they also describes the phenomenon as a social contamination.
It is somewhat encouraging to know that although people are attracted to people with similar habits, they are also the objectives of friends and partners.
Leahey suggests that overweight young adults work together with other overweight peers who are trying to lose weight.
Do you think overweight social networks have a net positive effect on weight loss efforts?
Image credit: mor10am

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