Obesity clusters
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
It isn't just like minds who hang out together - a study indicates it's like bodies. Researcher Tricia Leahey of the Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center in Rhode Island saw it in survey data on 288 people ages 18 to 25.
Leahey says people who were overweight or obese were more likely to have friends and romantic partners who were overweight or obese also. Leahey says this clustering might influence attitudes. But attitudes may also influence weight loss:
``Overweight and obese individuals who had more overweight and obese social contacts that were actually trying to lose weight reported greater weight-loss intentions or motivation to lose weight.'' (9 seconds)
The study in the journal Obesity was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
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HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.