for fear of generalising...

Robert

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/357/4/370

"Whereas obesity has been stigmatized in the past,
attitudes may be changing.11,12 To the extent that
obesity is a product of voluntary choices or
behaviors, the fact that people are embedded in social
networks and are influenced by the evident appearance
and behaviors of those around them suggests that
weight gain in one person might influence weight gain
in others. Having obese social contacts might change a
person's tolerance for being obese or might influence
his or her adoption of specific behaviors (e.g.,
smoking, eating, and exercising). In addition to such
strictly social mechanisms, it is plausible that
physiological imitation might occur; areas of the
brain that correspond to actions such as eating food
may be stimulated if these actions are observed in
others.13 Even infectious causes of obesity are
conceivable.14,15"

...

"The spread of obesity in social networks appears to
be a factor in the obesity epidemic. Yet the relevance
of social influence also suggests that it may be
possible to harness this same force to slow the spread
of obesity. Network phenomena might be exploited to
spread positive health behaviors,34,35,36 in part
because people's perceptions of their own risk of
illness may depend on the people around them.37
Smoking- and alcohol-cessation programs and
weight-loss interventions that provide peer support —
that is, that modify the person's social network — are
more successful than those that do not.34,35,38,39
People are connected, and so their health is
connected.40,41 Consequently, medical and public
health interventions might be more cost-effective than
initially supposed, since health improvements in one
person might spread to others.42 The observation that
people are embedded in social networks suggests that
both bad and good behaviors might spread over a range
of social ties. This highlights the necessity of
approaching obesity not only as a clinical problem but
also as a public health problem."


--
Robert Rattle
Researcher-Human Dimensions of Global
Change/Sustainable Consumption
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, P6B 4N8
website: http://www.ncf.ca/~at758 (under development)




      Get news delivered with the All new Yahoo! Mail.  Enjoy RSS feeds right on your Mail page. Start today at http://mrd.mail.yahoo.com/try_beta?.intl=ca

-------------------
Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]


To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the subject header --  to [log in to unmask]

SIGNOFF SDOH

DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.

To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.

SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname

To post a message to all 1200+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.

For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]

To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to [log in to unmask]
SET SDOH DIGEST

To view the SDOH archives, go to: https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html