Eating right and exercising often are the first lessons we learn about staying healthy, and they naturally form the basis of any weight loss plan. A recent theory, based on a 2007 report from the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that a third major player is involved to help determine the effectiveness of our health and weight maintenance program: our social environment. It makes sense; our family, friends, and co-workers are the people we interact with the most and help shape our ideas. The study, published in 2007, “involved a detailed analysis of a large social network of 12,067 people who had been closely followed for 32 years, from 1971 to 2003.” According to the study, if a person’s friend became obese, that person had a 57% chance of becoming obese his or herself! Conscious social changes, no doubt, lead to a healthier lifestyle. A rather intriguing question, though, involves addressing the role our subconscious plays in our weight loss endeavors. How much of an influence can we attribute to our subconscious environment, and our responses to it?
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:59:31 +0000