Recent studies have been conducted that provide extremely convincing evidence that obesity could be contagious. It’s a strange concept, but data collected during a recent study conducted by the University of Colorado has proven that being exposed to obese people can actually make you become fatter.
No, fat isn’t really contagious in the way that a virus would be, but there is a definite psychological trigger that causes this phenomenon.
Let me explain how this works. So, let’s imagine you’re a skinny guy and I’m a rather heavier guy (which wouldn’t take that much imagination on my part).
Since you realize I am heavier, you would consciously acknowledge that fact, and make the decision to not indulge in food as much as I do to avoid becoming obese like me. However, subconsciously you are happy and very proud of the fact that you are not as fat as me, so you become relaxed and comfortable with yourself, which actually triggers you to eat more than you would have if you were around a skinny person.
Participants in the study were asked how they believed their eating habits would change if they were frequently around obese people, and most stated that they would eat less. Then the test began. They were shown pictures of skinny, average, and obese people. The study data showed that food consumption actually increased by about 30% in people who were looking at photos of obese people verses those who were looking at skinny or average people.
Margaret C. Cambell states in the Journal of Consumer Research that “Activation of a negative
stereotype (the overweight stereotype) is shown to lead to stereotype-consistent goal commitment (low health goal commitment), which partially explains increases in stereotype- conducive behavior (eating indulgent foods).”
Five different studies were conducted, and all came to the same conclusion that being around a more obese person, or even seeing a photo of an obese person, would statistically increase the amount of food a person would intake.
These findings reinforced previous beliefs that the health and wellness of people around you are interconnected. The behaviors of our friends and family have a direct effect on our health, and this includes eating behaviors and body size. So basically for better or worse, we tend to regress to the dietary norms of the world we live in.
If you are concerned with your weight, there are products such as Xenical that can help block the fat so that your can realize your weight loss goals.
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