Can Overweight Friends Make You Gain Weight?

Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine

Sarah Jio,Glamour magazine

I don't like the flavor of this story at all. In fact, I almost didn't even want to cover it. And yet, I think it's worth discussing, and despite the unsavory (even somewhat discriminatory) findings, I still think there is an important message here...

See more: 7 Signs of True Love

Past research has hinted at a controversial hypothesis: If you're overweight, you're more likely to have overweight friends. This begs the question that a team of researchers at Loyola University tried to answer: Do obese friends contribute to weight gain?

See more: Spring 2012's Most Wearable Fashion Trends

Here's what they found: College students were 40 percent more likely to lower their BMI over the school year if they reported having a few "lean" pals. But get this: The students who said they only had overweight friends increased their BMIs by 56 percent. Eeks!

See more: 19 Cute Celebrity Hairstyles to Consider

The takeaway, say the researchers, is that social influence plays a big part in whether we lose weight or don't--or gain more. And the key here, I think, is simply being aware of that. In other words, learning to not dive into the tray of French fries just because your pal is munching on them vs. excluding friends from your life because of weight reasons (obviously, right? But I just had to address that).

Thoughts on this? Do the findings make sense to you or sort of bother you? I know it's a touch topic that needs more study, for sure.


More from Glamour:
10 Things He's Thinking When You're Naked
18 Midlength Hairstyles to Consider
5 Quick Fixes for Anything That Jiggles
What Your Hair Says About You (According to Guys)