Learn why being overweight can be contagious

Believe me: being in contact with overweight people can make you put on weight. Obesity is contagious: that’s the conclusion of scientists at the University of Southern California. And they are not the only ones.

O awesome.club now shares several researches whose results prove a little-known truth. Read and do not forget that we are talking about weight, and not about the beauty of each person. True beauty is, above all, a state of mind, and cannot be measured in kilos or centimeters.

Specialists from the University of California analyzed data from the M-TEENS project, in which 1,111 children and their families participated. Overall, 25% of children and 75% of adults were diagnosed with being overweight. A curious fact is that these numbers vary from state to state, for example: in Colorado, excess weight was detected in only 21% of children, while in Louisiana this percentage was twice as high.

After analyzing the environment, habits and other circumstances, the researchers detected an increase in weight in children whose parents work in companies with the highest rates of obesity among their employees. Scientists believe that the The main factor that makes members of a social group fat is the relationship between them.which influences the formation of eating habits🇧🇷

A similar survey, but on a larger scale, was carried out by University of Hawaii officials. They introduced the term “imitation obesity”, which is the process of imitating obese people. During the observation of 5,000 teenagers, it was detected that robust children “help” their thin friends to gain weight. “If you go to dinner with a friend who is overweight, you will likely end up eating what he eats, which will eventually make you overweight too,” the scientists concluded.

But it is from Harvard University, one of the most respected in the USA, the most comprehensive study, therefore, with greater value from the scientific point of view and more conclusive. For 32 (!!) years, researchers observed a group of 12,000 people and came to the conclusion that, if your friend gained weight, the probability that you will also gain is almost 50%.

Why are these findings interesting? The scientists believe that these data will help to develop a new method to combat obesity, whose objective will be to incorporate the principles of healthy eating for groups, and not just for certain individuals. This proves once again something we already know very well: losing weight, like any other activity, is more fun when you have a friend.