I’ve noticed that fat people tend to hang out together. Assuming I’m right, is it because they seek each other out, finding like-bodied people attractive, or is it because you’re more likely to get fat by hanging out with a fat person?
Drs. Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler addressed this and found that, as I thought, overweight and obese people tend to cluster. They found that a person’s likelihood of becoming obese increased dramatically (by more than half) if they had an obese friend. Obese siblings and obese spouses also increased people’s likelihood of becoming obese.
Their conclusion is that obesity seems to spread through social ties.
So what I see in Applebee’s, when two or three really overweight girls sit down for lunch, is a social group in which the girls are reaffirming each others right, and desire, to become and stay fat.
So, yes, it does seem that fat people come in threes.
Because being grossly overweight or obese has serious health implications, the social networking effect on weight is something that should be discussed by health professionals if a person desires to lose weight.
Eat out with friends, and … eat responsibly!
