Understanding Your Friends' Impact on your Waist Line | Midwest Weight Control

People like to do things in groups. We go out together, watch movies together, laugh together and cry together. Unfortunately, we also tend to gain weight together. People who spend a lot of time together with the same group of friends, which we are all likely to do, will pick up one another’s habits – which can often include over-eating.

A new study has shown that close friends adopt the same eating habits over time, and that many also tend to gain weight together. Someone with a group of overweight or obese friends is highly likely to develop that same unhealthy characteristic. In fact, the study of the people of Framingham, Massachusetts, performed by doctors from the University of California at San Diego and Harvard Medical School, found that a person’s probability of gaining weight and becoming obese increased as much as 57 percent if his or her closest friend also was or became obese. Having an obese spouse or sibling raised the probability by a third.

Fortunately, there is a bright side to the study as well. By the same token, a person who surrounds himself with people on a weight loss journey, or who have lost weight, is more likely to succeed in reversing the trend. That’s why the weight loss clinic is such an important step on the path to weight loss. Having the guidance and support of a qualified staff of professionals, coupled with the friendship and backing of others going through the same process makes weight loss less of a struggle. This is especially true of plans where patients rely on the clinic’s meal replacement shakes in Minnesota in order to drop the pounds while maintaining nutritional stability, as this takes the challenge out of making proper meal choices on a daily basis.

Weight gain is not a solitary journey, and weight loss does not have to be either. Visit your weight loss specialist today to find out more information about how a network of experienced support can help you on your journey to health and happiness.