How Family and Friends Can Determine Your Weight

Sometimes you will see a whole family which has similar figures. They will either be very fat or very thin or anything in between but there will be a resemblance whatever the case. Genes may explain this phenomenon but other factors can be included too. However you may also find that the circle of friends has similar weight levels. This would exclude genes and point to other social influences that are causing this. The article aims to highlight some of the ways in which the conduct and believes of your friends and family can affect your level of weight and your attitudes to your situation.

They will influence you

1)People with similar eating habits will tend to stay together. For instance if you enjoy fast food, you will normally socialize in fast food outlets. There you will meet people who enjoy fast food and in all probability become friends. They will then take you to even more fast food restaurants where you will meet even more fans of fast food. The cycle continues until you have a network of people who enjoy fast foods. The same is true if you have vegetarian tendencies or food fads. Your circle of friends will reflect your habits and sometimes re-enforce them because you are living with people who are similar to you.

2)The issues identified above apply to the family itself. If you have a family that has always liked cooking fatty foods, they will teach you to cook fatty foods. You with then teach your children to cook and eat fatty foods. The whole family will end up consuming excess fat and you will all look obese. Family plays an important role in shaping who we are and how we behave. In fact some people believe that we are the sum of our families’ foibles and strengths. Thus you might see a whole generation of a family experiencing the same weight issues because they have similar habits which have rubbed off onto one another. It is not just about the genes but the behavior. That is why celebrities who have food obsessions and diet fads tend to pass on these rules to their children and the children will apply all the information that their parents have passed onto them.

3)It is true that fat people are sometimes ostracized in many communities and they feel that the only way is to form some kind of defensive community which can look after their interests. Thus if you believe that society is being judgmental and unfair about your weight, the temptation will be there to withdraw into the fat community which understands your problems and gives you support. In fact it may not just be about withdrawing but finding solutions to your problems. Some people will join weight watcher programs where they will inevitably meet people who have similar weight issues to theirs. Friendships are formed and a whole community that actually resembles one another is born. This is a positive outcome but at the same time reinforces the phenomenon that people with similar issues tend to be found together.

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