Unless you have been living in a cave you have probably heard about the article by the New England journal of medicine. In a nutshell it says that obesity is contagious and people that have obese friends are more likely to be obese. If you are really interested in learning more aboutthe facts prior to ready my propaganda this here is the link for the NY times story (I couldn’t find a link for the original journal article)

Well here is what I have to say about this article…no shit. Why do you think anorexics get together, or sports fans? Don’t you choose your friends based on similar interests? You know what my friends like to do watch TV and eat ice cream. And amazingly the majority (ok all of us) have some extra poundage.

My next point as person who is not thin I do not like skinny people. I do not like people telling me I need to order salad; I do not like people nagging me to go the gym. Call it stereotyping but when in a social situation I will strike up a conversation with someone chubby about 5times as often as I would with a thin/fit person. This is normal as human we seek out people that are similar to ourselve it makes us feel comfortable and “normal.”

So in summary yes I believe the statistics but I think they looked at the relationship from the wrong angle. And if you are my friend I will not curse you with the disease of obesity. I have not shoved a hoho down anyone’s throat yet.

P.S. My friends and I are not as overwieght as the ladies in the above picture, but damn I wish I had the virocity to wear a bikini.

Labels: Science, Weight