Be Careful Who You Hang Out With

My list of friends may soon get a little bit shorter. Or maybe just thinner.

According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine friends do let friends gain weight.

The study, which was detailed in a New York Times article, concludes that a person is more
likely to become obese if a friend becomes obese.

In the Times article, Gina Kolata writes:

"If the new research is correct, it may say that something in the environment seeded what some call an obesity epidemic, making a few people gain weight. Then social networks let the obesity spread rapidly.

It may also mean that the way to avoid becoming fat is to avoid having fat friends."

From anecdotal evidence, I'd say you're more likely to become obese if your friends eat slow. Hardly a day goes by at the dinning hall when I eat more than I need simply because my eating partner is a sloth of an eater.

On a some what related note, Gilbert Arenas chimed in on the obesity epidemic in his most recent wave of blog greatness:

"I’m still on my diet too. It’s going well, I’m ripped baby! Of course I’m still tempted by Cheetos. I just said I’m still on a diet, but I didn’t say I don’t cheat away from the diet. Of course I do. I’m an American! We eat bad!"