Your friends could be keeping you overweight!
If “losing weight” is on your “MUST do list” this year, then you may also need to “lose some friends” too.
Weight Loss is the number one New Year’s Resolution on thousands of Australian’s lists each year. Only a small percentage will succeed and that’s not because they didn’t follow a plan but they may not have shed all they needed to shed.
Shedding weight may be impeded by your choice of friends according to a large (12,000 people) study published in the New England Journal Of Medicine.
The study looked at social networks and the impact on obesity. It found that a person’s chances of becoming obese increased by 57% if he or she had a friend who became obese in a given time interval. The cohort of patients were analysed in the very famous larger study group, the Framingham Heart Study.
The study also found the network phenomena extended to siblings (if one became obese, your chances increased by 40%) and spouses (an increase of 37%).
This is a really important consideration if you are undertaking any challenge at the moment!
Dieting in Australia
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistic, research in 2011-12 found that 2.3 million Australians were on a diet (13%) to lose weight or for other reasons and for many it will be a short term fix that won’t transpire into any long term benefits.
I have always maintained it’s not just about what goes in your mouth, and definitely not about what you can achieve in 8 weeks.
Losing weight is an overall different approach to your life, your lifestyle and even friends.
Often 8 week challenges work for a limited time but then people regain the weight as they haven’t addressed the real issues, which are poor lifestyle choices , sedentary activity and friends that are unhealthy.
Life lasting changes only come with life-lasting-changes.
Often we need to address who influences us, who we want to please, why we take short cuts, why we fall off the wagon.
Healthy living and weight range is possible with a comprehensive approach to your life and shouldn’t feel like a “challenge” or something unsustainable.
Surround yourself with people on a similar mission. People who are striving to be healthy or who are ” healthy” already. This will help your success.
Try to avoid hanging out with people who don’t care about their health, eat doughnuts and take aways. Stick with people a little further on the health continuum than you. They will inspire you, motivate you, maybe even share some tips and certainly will influence your outcomes in a positive way.
I have spent the last 29 years helping people (successfully) lose weight and keep it off. To find out more about my 8 week program (that addresses more than just food and exercise, click here).
Weight Loss that occurs slower and with good food, regular exercise, hormone balancing and mixing up activities can be fun, easy and will last a life time.
My 5 TOP tips for Weight Loss in 2016
1. Choose excellent foods (quality proteins, loads of vegetables, limited salt, limited sugar)
2. Be active every day
3. Have balanced hormones
4. Choose your friends wisely
5. See this as a commitment to a “life change” not a short term kick start.
References:
1. The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years, Nicholas A. Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and James H. Fowler, Ph.D. N Engl J Med 2007; 357:370-379July 26, 2007DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa066082
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa066082
2. 4364.0.55.007 – Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results – Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12 Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/05/2014
