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The effect of social media on obesity
Phirrgus
Posts: 1,894 Member
in Debate Club
My wife watched me going through my homepage one night and stated that it looks a lot like facebook. No surprise there, but my mind went down this convoluted path from FB look a like to the social media/weightloss site that is MFP. "Friends" both active and supportive or not, and the...clamoring...for friends in the first two sub-forums, for support/motivation/socialization and what have you. I thought this interesting in light of this tidbit.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/social-networks-and-health-communicable-but-not-infectious
It's a fairly short read, no heavy lifting required. Thoughts?
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/social-networks-and-health-communicable-but-not-infectious
Researchers from Harvard and the University of California investigated 12,067 people who had been evaluated medically on multiple occasions from 1971 to 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study. They found that if one sibling became obese during the study, the chance that another sibling would become obese increased by 40%. Genetics might account for some of the parallel weight gain in siblings, but not for the fact that if a spouse became obese, the likelihood that the other spouse would follow suit jumped by 37%. Shared meals and other lifestyle habits might explain that link, but the scientists also found that if a person had a friend who became obese, his chance of growing obese rose by 57%.
The impact of networks depended more on social status than physical proximity; obesity in a neighbor had much less influence than obesity in a friend, regardless of how far away the friend lived. Friends of the same sex were particularly influential; a man who had a male friend who became obese experienced a 100% increase in his own chance of becoming obese. And when two people regarded their friendship as mutual, obesity in one member of the pair increased the other's likelihood of becoming obese by a staggering 171%.
Social-network science is much newer than epidemiology, and its eventual impact on medicine remains uncertain. The statistical methodology used in the Framingham research on obesity and happiness has come under fire. Still, the studies raise the intriguing possibility that noninfectious phenomena can spread across communities through social networks, and researchers have added alcohol consumption and depression to the list of things that may be affected by social networks.
It's a fairly short read, no heavy lifting required. Thoughts?
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I think it's certainly possible that social media can affect obesity. These quotes focus on increasing obesity, but for the opposite just look here. Many of us turned to the community and stay here because it helps us in our efforts to lose, gain, or maintain weight and change or improve our fitness. Or course that intentional social interaction for weight and fitness purposes. But it seems reasonable that social media could similarly lead to influencing groups to become obese together. For the most part that would almost certainly be unintentional, but still possible. Things like sharing recipes, food pictures, restaurant recommendations could influence others to overindulge. Even things as simple as checking into restaurants on Facebook or sharing sexy pictures of drinking on the beach may do so. Also, many of here struggle with emotional ties to eating. I absolutely believe that at least some measure of happiness, sadness, anger, depression, etc. are passed through social media. That is why so many people react so strongly to posts or take breaks from social media for their mental health. If a group of people who are emotional eaters are similarly impacted by posts creating negative emotions, it is possible to believe that the group as a whole is also likely to similarly overeat.10
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I hang around here because the last time l dropped off MFP, I started gaining weight back within a few months. So my n=1 is that it works in the reverse as well.16
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Most of my IG feed is gym/lifting related. But I don't know if it has had any impact. I used the gym the same amount before I started my IG.
My close friends/family may be overweight, but I don't think anyone is in the obese category. So, it's hard to tell for me, personally.0 -
"You are who you hang with."
I suspect hanging with obese people who are working to become not-obese doesn't quite have the same effect as hanging with someone in the process of unintentionally becoming obese.
They claim some kids have become politically radicalized terrorists online, if people can be that drastically influenced then something as insidious as obesity is probably easy-peasy for media to cause.
PS: Its a plot by the Russians to make Americans fat....
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I can't speak to the effects of social media on obesity. But I can speak to the effects of social media on sanity. Or at least, MY sanity. I deleted my accounts on Facebook, Twitter and all other social media over a year ago. It was the BEST thing I ever did. I feel as if I have found peace again. I do continue to interact with the community on MFP however. I have found it to be both helpful and amusing. I think they run a pretty tight ship here....9
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70% of my Facebook feed is my dad sharing videos of people making recipes that are either entirely cheese and bacon, or entirely chocolate, my one true love. A lot of my promoted ads are food based, probably because of him. Looking at all that makes me hungry, or gives me cravings for high calorie food.
As for fat friends/family, they are often wanting to go for beers or pizza or restaurants to hang out. So they're like a bad influence.
There's a reason people who get really serious about losing weight often also lose friends.12 -
I hang around here because the last time l dropped off MFP, I started gaining weight back within a few months. So my n=1 is that it works in the reverse as well.
This x1000000 for me.
I’ve been here 7 1/2 years. I’ve been all over the map in terms of life happenings, illness, injury, etc plus various levels of priority placed on my fitness/health goals (some de-prioritizing for “legitimate” reasons-some not). The only reason I’m still in the game at all is because I’m here and engaged with people.
They don’t “hold me accountable” nor do I look to people for active “support” or “motivation” or any other buzzwords. It’s that I’m participating in a community where people are working on health/fitness goals-which makes it the norm for me to do so.16 -
We were recently discussing this - I firmly believe that you become like who you hang out with.
Most of my close friends also ride horses competitively, it's not something you can be successful doing if you're overweight. My Fb friends that I regularly interact with are of the same goal oriented mindset.2 -
We're tribal. I think we mimic our tribe, not just anyone we see, as a unifying behaviour. The same way we subconsciously mirror gestures and inflections. It's why peer pressure works.
That's my theory. It may be tripe.7 -
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Duck_Puddle wrote: »I hang around here because the last time l dropped off MFP, I started gaining weight back within a few months. So my n=1 is that it works in the reverse as well.
They don’t “hold me accountable” nor do I look to people for active “support” or “motivation” or any other buzzwords. It’s that I’m participating in a community where people are working on health/fitness goals-which makes it the norm for me to do so.
Thank you for putting into words something I couldn't describe. I don't need anyone to hold me accountable. Motivation is useless to me. I just like being around people working on similar goals because it feels more comfortable.
In terms of support, I don't need anyone patting my head but I do value the advice and knowledge people provide here.3 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »I hang around here because the last time l dropped off MFP, I started gaining weight back within a few months. So my n=1 is that it works in the reverse as well.
This x1000000 for me.
I’ve been here 7 1/2 years. I’ve been all over the map in terms of life happenings, illness, injury, etc plus various levels of priority placed on my fitness/health goals (some de-prioritizing for “legitimate” reasons-some not). The only reason I’m still in the game at all is because I’m here and engaged with people.
They don’t “hold me accountable” nor do I look to people for active “support” or “motivation” or any other buzzwords. It’s that I’m participating in a community where people are working on health/fitness goals-which makes it the norm for me to do so.
Oh yeah, in definitely not into head pats, and I'm virtually silent on my wall here (as you might have noticed ) The atmosphere of people actively improving their health and fitness helps keep me focused on my own.
FB is just depressing. Either I'm marveling at how people I know have managed to screw up their lives so magnificently, or I'm jealous that they somehow have time and spouses/children that allow them to keep their houses clean enough to not have to crop random clutter out of their pics, plus go in fabulous vacations every 6 months l. So I mostly ignore it.6 -
I don't think it's social media. People typically are who they surround themselves with. Friends are usually friends because they have things in common and enjoy similar things. My FB friends are also my real life friends...I do have some acquaintances from high school and whatnot, but I don't interact with them on a regular basis. For the most part, my FB friends are making posts about their latest race, their kids' at the BMX track, the latest time trial...training for another power lifting meet, etc.
The company I keep now is quite a bit different than the company I kept a decade ago...not that I don't catch up with those folks every once in awhile, but my circle of friends has changed quite a bit over the years.5 -
in psychology terms that is similar to the proximity attraction theory - that basically talks about being in a similar location you are more likely to be attached to an individual - you could apply to the same here = if you are in the same proximity (virtual or physical) - you increase the likely hood of obestity (or converse similar physical changes)2
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I'm part of a hiking forum, I think that counts as social media?
I've made friends through it. There's an annual calendar contest, it's surprisingly competitive and has a "within the past 12 months" rule. Strong incentive to go out at every opportunity. People post amazing trip reports, to really fit in, it helps to go to great places and bring pictures back.
Now if I were a member of a baking forum ...2 -
This was my take away from what I posted in the OP, with focus on virtual proximity. "Friends" here are not necessarily real friends at all, yet the motivation from peer pressure, real or perceived, does indeed seem to help some stay on track.deannalfisher wrote: »in psychology terms that is similar to the proximity attraction theory - that basically talks about being in a similar location you are more likely to be attached to an individual - you could apply to the same here = if you are in the same proximity (virtual or physical) - you increase the likely hood of obestity (or converse similar physical changes)
Likewise - I have friends here I also chat with elsewhere and am more open with and the support is much more personal and genuine, which makes a huge difference in my outlook. Like does indeed call to like...
So, as NorthCascades stated, if I did belong to a baking forum, I would probably be screwed lol.
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I use MFP primarily for logging as most do I would assume. It is just easier and slightly more accurate than what I did for the first 3 1/2 months of logging it in a notebook. I look at it like a gym. so many people go to the gym to socialize and don't actually even work out or get a crappy workout at best. This is one reason why I don't belong to a gym, I work out at home to stay away from these kind of people. That being said, I do like it if I can help someone or inspire them in some way with my weight loss journey.0
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I haven't logged consistently since last November, so I guess I'm the chick going to the gym to socialize and getting a crappy workout in this scenarionighthawk584 wrote: »I use MFP primarily for logging as most do I would assume. It is just easier and slightly more accurate than what I did for the first 3 1/2 months of logging it in a notebook. I look at it like a gym. so many people go to the gym to socialize and don't actually even work out or get a crappy workout at best. This is one reason why I don't belong to a gym, I work out at home to stay away from these kind of people. That being said, I do like it if I can help someone or inspire them in some way with my weight loss journey.
Seriously, it's a tool. One we each use a little differently. But don't assume that just because some people are here to socialize more than you, they aren't putting the work in :flowerforyou:7 -
I haven't logged consistently since last November, so I guess I'm the chick going to the gym to socialize and getting a crappy workout in this scenarionighthawk584 wrote: »I use MFP primarily for logging as most do I would assume. It is just easier and slightly more accurate than what I did for the first 3 1/2 months of logging it in a notebook. I look at it like a gym. so many people go to the gym to socialize and don't actually even work out or get a crappy workout at best. This is one reason why I don't belong to a gym, I work out at home to stay away from these kind of people. That being said, I do like it if I can help someone or inspire them in some way with my weight loss journey.
Seriously, it's a tool. One we each use a little differently. But don't assume that just because some people are here to socialize more than you, they aren't putting the work in :flowerforyou:
I haven't logged consistently since last November, so I guess I'm the chick going to the gym to socialize and getting a crappy workout in this scenarionighthawk584 wrote: »I use MFP primarily for logging as most do I would assume. It is just easier and slightly more accurate than what I did for the first 3 1/2 months of logging it in a notebook. I look at it like a gym. so many people go to the gym to socialize and don't actually even work out or get a crappy workout at best. This is one reason why I don't belong to a gym, I work out at home to stay away from these kind of people. That being said, I do like it if I can help someone or inspire them in some way with my weight loss journey.
Seriously, it's a tool. One we each use a little differently. But don't assume that just because some people are here to socialize more than you, they aren't putting the work in :flowerforyou:
I NEVER once said ALL people. 😃2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I don't think it's social media. People typically are who they surround themselves with. Friends are usually friends because they have things in common and enjoy similar things. My FB friends are also my real life friends...I do have some acquaintances from high school and whatnot, but I don't interact with them on a regular basis. For the most part, my FB friends are making posts about their latest race, their kids' at the BMX track, the latest time trial...training for another power lifting meet, etc.
The company I keep now is quite a bit different than the company I kept a decade ago...not that I don't catch up with those folks every once in awhile, but my circle of friends has changed quite a bit over the years.
I really enjoy fb and have been on it for over 10 years. I moved from TX to NM over a year ago and am so thankful for Fb to keep up with my friends & family. I ride horses competitively and use it to keep up with results, upcoming races, all the industry stuff, love seeing my friend's kids......just being able to keep up with my friend's lives in general. Here's a flip side for you - I have a lot of friends in the Fort Worth area that are professionally driven females that continually work to improve themselves. (I so miss Fort Worth culture)....and now I live in a small town in rural NM - I'm so thankful I can stay plugged into a group that continues to better educate themselves, succeed at work and with our hobbies.....because this part of NM is freakin depressing on so many levels.
We become like the people we surround ourselves with - be mindful of who you allow to influence your life.1 -
I've read [news] articles that have discussed the study that the link talked about before. In the context of the title of this thread, think it's important to mention that they're not talking about social media. While it would certainly be logical to use the discussed article in a lit review that then went on to analyze research done on any potential influence of social media on weight (loss or gain), that's not what's going on here.The effect of social media on obesity0 -
I've read [news] articles that have discussed the study that the link talked about before. In the context of the title of this thread, think it's important to mention that they're not talking about social media. While it would certainly be logical to use the discussed article in a lit review that then went on to analyze research done on any potential influence of social media on weight (loss or gain), that's not what's going on here.The effect of social media on obesity
@aokoye It is what I mentioned Just prior to posting the link. I stated my case regarding social media and how it may affect us "in light of..." the info contained in that article. In other words, social networks have a profound effect on us. We know this, and I believe that social media forms virtual social networks and wanted folks thoughts on how we perceive the effect on us. I see mfp and other sites as vast virtual networks. Do they have a similar effect?0 -
I've read [news] articles that have discussed the study that the link talked about before. In the context of the title of this thread, think it's important to mention that they're not talking about social media. While it would certainly be logical to use the discussed article in a lit review that then went on to analyze research done on any potential influence of social media on weight (loss or gain), that's not what's going on here.The effect of social media on obesity
@aokoye It is what I mentioned Just prior to posting the link. I stated my case regarding social media and how it may affect us "in light of..." the info contained in that article. In other words, social networks have a profound effect on us. We know this, and I believe that social media forms virtual social networks and wanted folks thoughts on how we perceive the effect on us. I see mfp and other sites as vast virtual networks. Do they have a similar effect?
I also believe that social media can be a form of a social network. That said, I am also well aware that social media is not what was discussed in the article that you linked to. I think MFP is unique compared to most social media in that it revolves around weight management. Given that, if I were to design a study surrounding social media broadly and weight change that included MFP, it would either be an outlier or in a category with other social media revolving around weight.0 -
I've read [news] articles that have discussed the study that the link talked about before. In the context of the title of this thread, think it's important to mention that they're not talking about social media. While it would certainly be logical to use the discussed article in a lit review that then went on to analyze research done on any potential influence of social media on weight (loss or gain), that's not what's going on here.The effect of social media on obesity
@aokoye It is what I mentioned Just prior to posting the link. I stated my case regarding social media and how it may affect us "in light of..." the info contained in that article. In other words, social networks have a profound effect on us. We know this, and I believe that social media forms virtual social networks and wanted folks thoughts on how we perceive the effect on us. I see mfp and other sites as vast virtual networks. Do they have a similar effect?
I also believe that social media can be a form of a social network. That said, I am also well aware that social media is not what was discussed in the article that you linked to. I think MFP is unique compared to most social media in that it revolves around weight management. Given that, if I were to design a study surrounding social media broadly and weight change that included MFP, it would either be an outlier or in a category with other social media revolving around weight.
I know you saw my admission to a very convoluted thought process
I do think as well that mfp isn't strictly indicative of a social media network per se, but it does have it's components that meet the definitions. If anything it seems to represent a nice sample of both sides of the equation, being common goal oriented social media network alongside a good chunk of social media networking for no other purpose than fun. That last representing certain sub-forums here.
Like minded individuals do seem to flock to like minded and have a positive, or at times negative effect. That's mollified here a bit due to the strict moderation which keeps it from getting out of hand.
That's pretty much the only place I was going with this, in a nutshell. People's effect on each other through various mediums.0 -
glovepuppet wrote: »We're tribal. I think we mimic our tribe, not just anyone we see, as a unifying behaviour. The same way we subconsciously mirror gestures and inflections. It's why peer pressure works.
That's my theory. It may be tripe.
I think that's exactly right. Humans are wired for social groups, so we're very influenced by what we perceive as social norms.
It's not that we can't examine what the people around us are doing, and do something different . . . but it takes a little extra energy or impetus to do that, it's not the easy, float-with-the-current approach. By default, it seems normal to do what people around us are doing, and seems weird to do something very different (to ourselves as well as to those people around us, who may show us that they notice our eccentric behavior).
So, surrounding ourselves with people (real or virtual) who do what we do (or what we want to do) is potentially useful as an intentional strategy.6 -
Sometimes I like thinking up interesting studies that I would never carry out because a. it's not especially close to my main areas of interest research wise and b. I simply don't have the time or resources. Given how many of my posts you've read, I can't imagine that you're surprised by any of this this
I've read [news] articles that have discussed the study that the link talked about before. In the context of the title of this thread, think it's important to mention that they're not talking about social media. While it would certainly be logical to use the discussed article in a lit review that then went on to analyze research done on any potential influence of social media on weight (loss or gain), that's not what's going on here.The effect of social media on obesity
@aokoye It is what I mentioned Just prior to posting the link. I stated my case regarding social media and how it may affect us "in light of..." the info contained in that article. In other words, social networks have a profound effect on us. We know this, and I believe that social media forms virtual social networks and wanted folks thoughts on how we perceive the effect on us. I see mfp and other sites as vast virtual networks. Do they have a similar effect?
I also believe that social media can be a form of a social network. That said, I am also well aware that social media is not what was discussed in the article that you linked to. I think MFP is unique compared to most social media in that it revolves around weight management. Given that, if I were to design a study surrounding social media broadly and weight change that included MFP, it would either be an outlier or in a category with other social media revolving around weight.
I know you saw my admission to a very convoluted thought process 1 -
Sometimes I like thinking up interesting studies that I would never carry out because a. it's not especially close to my main areas of interest research wise and b. I simply don't have the time or resources. Given how many of my posts you've read, I can't imagine that you're surprised by any of this this
I've read [news] articles that have discussed the study that the link talked about before. In the context of the title of this thread, think it's important to mention that they're not talking about social media. While it would certainly be logical to use the discussed article in a lit review that then went on to analyze research done on any potential influence of social media on weight (loss or gain), that's not what's going on here.The effect of social media on obesity
@aokoye It is what I mentioned Just prior to posting the link. I stated my case regarding social media and how it may affect us "in light of..." the info contained in that article. In other words, social networks have a profound effect on us. We know this, and I believe that social media forms virtual social networks and wanted folks thoughts on how we perceive the effect on us. I see mfp and other sites as vast virtual networks. Do they have a similar effect?
I also believe that social media can be a form of a social network. That said, I am also well aware that social media is not what was discussed in the article that you linked to. I think MFP is unique compared to most social media in that it revolves around weight management. Given that, if I were to design a study surrounding social media broadly and weight change that included MFP, it would either be an outlier or in a category with other social media revolving around weight.
I know you saw my admission to a very convoluted thought process
Pleasantly not surprised. It's why I enjoy bouncing ideas in debate.
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Social media influences people? *shocked*There's a reason people who get really serious about losing weight often also lose friends.
Are you sure it's not because they happen to be narcissistic *kitten*? If losing weight means you end up losing friends, there are likely some issues there.
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I would agree that there is an observable effect and impact. Especially considering the experts behind the design of social media tend to severely restrict their use of social media.
The evidence suggests social media has a greater impact on those who put emotion over reason. In particular those who have been trained to recognize and mitigate confirmation bias.
This wouldn't be considered a direct influencer, but it is certainly an indirect influencer as evidenced by the countless threads on this site "My significant other is sabotaging me by keeping junk food in the kitchen". Our friends, virtual or real, have an impact on our behavior.
If you want to excel at something, one of the most effective methods is to surround yourself with like minded people with similar goals.6 -
Social media influences people? *shocked*There's a reason people who get really serious about losing weight often also lose friends.
Are you sure it's not because they happen to be narcissistic *kitten*? If losing weight means you end up losing friends, there are likely some issues there.
Pretty sure not, in all cases. If one's social life is all about bonding over meals or drinking, without a lot of more fundamental harmony of character or non-consumables interests, and those folks reject the whole notion of hiking on the weekend or whatever new interests an individual develops, those pseudo-friendships (that seem like friendships in the intial context) tend to drop away in favor of people we met at the gym who think it would be fun to take a long bike ride with us on Saturday. This can happen with any change in shared interests/circumstances, it doesn't require "issues" in any weighty (heh) psychological sense of the term.
As an alternate example, I lost quite a few friends when I became a young widow, because many couples-friends really didn't know what to do with me anymore, and I didn't either. There was no hostility or conflict, just a lack of ongoing shared activity, plus a little bit of psychological discomfort (I reminded them of a dead friend, and they didn't know what to say). Many of those friendships dropped away. I'm very doubtful that it was because I was a "narcissistic *kitten*". We're still all pleasant and friendly to one another if we happen to meet.
But perhaps friend-sets around those who know what RFC2549 is may be a little bit out of the food/drink-focused mainstream . . . and that's a good thing, in my world: Seems I knew, for example, and I spent 30 years around a lot of people who would've. ). 6
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