Obesity and Diabetes: The Social Network Effect
Linking Friends to Fat and Future Health Issues
MILWAUKEE, July 22, 2015 - We’ve known for decades your family plays a huge role in your health. Genetics has long been linked to a series of illnesses and disorders.
Even though you can’t pick your family, you can choose your friends; and new research shows that could be incredibly important when it comes to your short and long-term health.
In “Can Social Interactions Change the Brain?”, a group out of the University of Kiel in Germany finds a link between obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease based on the lifestyles of the types of people you choose to spend time with.
“We argue that there are direct and indirect social network effects on obesity and obesity related co-morbidities,” says Professor Christian Henning, one of the authors of the study.
So what changes can you make to get healthy? It’s not just about diet and exercise. You can see this presentation July 28th as part of the 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
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Contact: Allison Scheetz
Senior Communications Manager
(414) 918-3190
Email: ascheetz@aaea.org