Monday, August 03, 2009 WASHINGTON: Recent research found a strong connection between teenagers’ weights and those of their friends. The data show that kids tend to interact in groups with others who have similar weight; so overweight children tend to spend time together. The study, which will be in the journal Economics and Human Biology, looked at 5,000 teenagers, then followed up with many of them two years later, according to BBC News. The weight changes overtime showed that a child’s weight gain could be associated with having a fat friend, which, according to the study, supported the theory of imitative obesity: mirroring the habits of one’s friends. Using the Body Mass Index scale, a boy who is 5 feet 9 inches is technically healthy if he weighs around 147 pounds. If a friend who weighs the same and is at the same height later gains 7 pounds, the boy is likely to gain 2 pounds, according to the study. Even though that weight gain is not significant at first, if the gain continu...
Get to know about News and lifestyle