Can You Catch the Fat Bug?

A recent study by an American team of researchers has discovered that obesity can be spread like a virus within a network of friends. Based on a pool of data containing more than 12,000 participants, investigators concluded that people were more likely to become what is considered “obese” if they had a friend who was overweight. This conclusion may explain the cause of the climbing rates of obesity across America. This phenomenon carries serious repercussions for insurance companies and health organizations in the United States. Obesity is also quickly becoming an issue for individuals, because there are so many health problems associated with being obese that overweight people are having difficulty obtaining insurance coverage.

The data analyzed in this study included 32 years of information about a community of over 12,000 people from a small town in Massachusetts. The data was originally collected as part of an examination of the causes of heart disease. Each member of a family that participated in the study also gave the name of one close friend (for contact purposes). From this data, the researchers were able to recreate an interconnected web that helped them track the spread of obesity over time.

The method used to determine the weight categories of each participant was a value-calculation method known as Body mass index (BMI). This is an objective measure of height-to-weight that gives an indication of whether an individual is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. The BMI percentage is calculated by dividing weight (kg) by height squared (meters squared).

BMI ranges:

Using a history of the health and weight of these 12,000 individuals, the research team was able to observe that the changing BMI of a person over more than three decades was often closely related to the BMI of their close family and friends. Family members who gained weight often influenced each other, but the correlation was much stronger with friends. The principal cause was that friends often change each others’ perception of what comprises an acceptable body type. If a close friend puts on a lot of weight, it is easy for a person to accept their own weight gain, and is therefore become more likely to grow larger without realizing it.

The researchers’ initial figure about the spread of obesity is that a person’s chance of becoming obese will increase by 57% if they have a friend who becomes obese. If a close mutual friend is obese, the chance of becoming obese as well skyrockets to 171%. The investigators point to this conclusion as one of the factors for American’s growing obese population. People are catching it from one another. These findings are quite an achievement in the field of medical sociology, pairing body image with social contact and perception.

The researchers described the spread of obesity as a similar to a viral contagion in the way that it traveled through the wide social network that was part of the study. Some of the researchers involved in the study have gone so far as to describe obesity as an epidemic, since the condition can spread very rapidly. The reason that some describe this phenomenon as an epidemic is because the weight gained was often just a small amount that pushed an individual from a BMI that indicates “overweight” to one that indicates “obese.”

While many social scientists find this to be a groundbreaking study, other medical professionals don’t trust what they see as a hasty and somewhat anecdotal conclusion. Key in this assessment is the use of BMI as an indicator of health. The BMI, some say, is not a reliable indicator of health. It fails to take into account many factors, such as body type or lifestyle. For example, if a person is athletic, it is likely that their BMI will be higher because the value cannot differentiate between muscle weight and what is strictly fat. BMI is unable to distinguish between types of tissue and body structure that make up weight, and can often result in more skewed BMIs. Also, people of a short stature often have a lower BMI, even when the actual fat percentage of their physique might be higher than a larger person. A more accurate gauge of obesity, some argue, is simply measuring the waist circumference of a potentially overweight person.

BMI can be used as an indicator for health risks if the value is on either end of the BMI spectrum. Percentages below 18.5 usually indicate a serve eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Percentages above the “normal weight” range of 18.5 to 25 can usually indicate an increased threat of heart disease, particularly for older individuals. Even higher BMIs will be accompanied by other health concerns, such as hypertension and diabetes.

The condition of obesity is defined as the point past which fatty tissue in humans is increased to an unhealthy point. Obesity can arise from genetic determinants, lifestyle choice, certain illnesses, and neurobiological mechanisms. Another factor, social determinants, is becoming an increasingly popular explanation for a growing obese population worldwide. In the United States, obesity is becoming a public health concern.

Out of all developed countries worldwide, the United States has the largest obese population. This is a growing public health concern because obesity in American has been increasing steadily since the mid-1980s. Some people blame this on environmental causes, as many see a changing American economy and culture and a direct influence on the change in lifestyle that has inspired such a drastic demographic change.

Environmental factors that have likely been the cause of the growing obese population:

Health risks that arise from obesity:

In some cases, obese individuals are also afflicted gastrointestinal conditions, strain of the musculoskeletal system, stroke, asthma, and depression. These are all severe, potentially fatal conditions that may continue to afflict an individual even after they have returned to a healthy BMI. Due to the myriad of potential health risks that accompany people with weight problems, insurance companies are hesitant to take on new policyholders if they already have a BMI in an unsafe range.

In America and all over the world, a growing obese population means a strain on the global health care infrastructure that will lead to future challenges in providing care that is necessary for unhealthy BMIs. Insurance companies are trying to avoid being liable for a great number of these complications, and often reject applicants who rank too high in body mass index. Obesity is a problem for people all over the world, and a contagious one, at that.

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August 2, 2007 | Filed Under Health Issues 

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