Social Causes of Obesity

December 2011

Social Causes of ObesityAlthough a number of factors determine whether someone will become obese or not, one of the things that can affect your likelihood of gaining weight is the people in your social network. This means your friends, family and coworkers. People are influenced by the ideas and habits of the people in their social network, including those about food and exercise. This means if your best friend thinks nothing of eating junk food, or typically consumes large portions, you may find yourself doing the same and gaining weight as a result of this.

However, just because your friends and family may have some unhealthy eating and exercise habits doesn’t mean you are destined to become obese. If you change your habits to be healthier and get your friends involved when you are trying to lose weight, you could actually help them to develop healthier habits and lose weight as well. When looking into weight loss diets in Beverly Hills, you should consider how well these diets will work given your eating habits and social habits. If you tend to go out to eat with friends, you will want to choose a diet that helps you pick the healthiest foods while eating out rather than one that requires you to eat at home all the time. Likewise, if you and your friends enjoy eating carbs, you probably don’t want to choose a low-carb diet.

Be aware of the influence the people in your life have on your own eating and exercise habits and try to come up with ways to avoid bad habits, or ways to counter the effects of the somewhat less healthy behaviors you engage in while you are with your friends. If you always go out to eat with your friends on Friday nights, for example, make sure to eat low-calorie but filling foods during the rest of the day so you won’t be as tempted to eat too much, and research your options ahead of time so you know the healthiest options at the restaurant where you will be going.