The psychological motivation to lose weight depends on your pals. In fact, you're more likely to gain weight & stay obese if you have overweight friends.
Friends affect more than your attitude, mindset, and goals. They can help you find your healthy weight or they can influence you to gain weight.
Weight Gain is Socially Contagious
In a recent study of friends and weight gain, Harvard and University of California (San Diego) researchers discovered that you have a greater chance of becoming obese if your friends have gained weight. Weight gain is "socially contagious" in that it spreads from person to person in a group of friends.
If your friend becomes obese, you have a 57% higher chance of gaining weight yourself. If you have mutual friends, the likelihood that you'll lose sight of your healthy weight is 171%.
Family doesn't affect your weight gain the same way – nor do roommates. It's friends in particular who can help or hinder as you find your healthy weight.
Factors Influencing Healthy Weight: How Friends Make You Fat
"It's not that obese or non-obese people simply find other similar people to hang out with," says Harvard professor Nicholas Christakis. "Rather, there is a direct, causal relationship."
Geography doesn't even play a role: even if friends are 500 miles apart they can influence you to gain weight! Even if you have different lifestyles, environments, and habits – your friends can still negatively affect your healthy weight.
Factors Influencing Healthy Weight: Friends Chance Your Perceptions
"What appears to be happening is that a person becoming obese most likely causes a change of norms about what counts as an appropriate body size. People come to think that it is okay to be bigger since those around them are bigger, and this sensibility spreads," says Christakis.
If you're hanging out with people who are fine gaining or losing weight, then you'll unconsciously adopt the same attitudes. If your friends don't mind being obese – or mind it but don't attempt to lose weight – then you'll start thinking the same way.
Factors Influencing Healthy Weight: Social Effects Are Powerful
Your friends influence you when you're deciding how much to eat, how much to exercise, and how important (or not important) weight loss or weight gain is.
Factors Influencing Healthy Weight: Thinness is Contagious, Too!
It works the same way with weight loss: eating healthy, exercising regularly, and losing weight is also affected by your social circle. If your friends are healthy and fit, you're more likely to find your healthy weight and stay active, too.
译文:
影响你健康体重的因素--你的朋友如何使你变胖或变瘦
心理上减肥的动力来自于你的朋友。事实上，如果你有体重超标的朋友，那你就更有可能变胖、增肥。
朋友对你的影响多过你本人的态度、情绪和目标。他们可以帮助你找到你的健康体重，抑或是他们会改变你去增肥。
体重增加具有社会传染性
在近日一份关于朋友和体重增加的研究中，哈佛和加州大学（圣地亚哥）的研究人员发现，如果你的朋友体重有所增加，那么你有很大的可能性变胖。体重增加具有“社会性传染”，它会在朋友圈中互相传播。
如果你的朋友变胖，你体重增加的机会就会高出57%。如果你的死党变胖，你就有可能忽略自己的健康体重是171%。
家人不会以同样的方式影响你体重的增加--室友也不会。朋友特别会帮助你或是阻碍你找到自己的健康体重。
影响健康体重的因素：朋友如何使你变胖
哈佛教授尼古拉斯·克里斯塔克斯(Nicholas Christakis) “并不是肥胖或是不肥胖的人简简单单的去寻找和他们相似的人去做伴的，而是，直接的、因果关系。”
距离不是问题：即便朋友相隔500米，他们依然可以影响到你去增肥！即便你们有着不同的生活方式、周遭环境和行为习惯--你的朋友仍然可以给你的健康体重带来消极影响。
影响你健康体重的因素：朋友改变你的观念
克里斯塔克斯说：“以后有可能发生的是一个人变胖很可能引起对于合适体型标准的改变。人们开始认为变胖是好的，因为她周围的人都越来越胖，这种感觉蔓延开。”
如果你正和增肥或减肥成功的人交往，你将会不知不觉的吸收同种态度。如果你的朋友不介意变胖--或介意但是不尝试减肥--那么你将会开始以同种方式思考。
影响健康体重的因素：强大的社会效应
在你决定吃多少东西，运动多久以及减肥或增肥的重要（或不重要）性时，你的朋友影响了你。
影响健康体重的因素：纤瘦也是会传染的
它和减肥一样：健康的饮食、有规律的锻炼，并且减肥也受到你的社交圈影响。如果你的朋友是健康且匀称的，你也更愿意去达到你的健康体重，充满活力。