26 Jul 2007
Obesity is 'socially contagious'

I'm not putting this in 'Humor', with the rest of my "Studies in Stupidity", because even though that's what it is, it isn't very funny. It is, despite being stupid, true. And it's very dangerous.

"What appears to be happening is that a person becoming obese most likely causes a change of norms about what counts as an appropriate body size. People come to think that it is okay to be bigger since those around them are bigger, and this sensibility spreads," said Christakis.

In short, if your friends become liberals, you're more likely to find being a liberal socially acceptable, and become one, too. Thus, liberality is "socially contagious".

So is conservatism.

So is smoking, drinking, gambling, and drug use. So is appreciating art, music and literature.

Of course we're influenced by our friends - it's called "culture". Sometimes it's a subculture, sometimes it's a counterculture.

By this use of the "contagion", obesity becomes a disease. Crime is a disease. In fact, any bit of human behavior that is disliked can be construed as a disease, complete with symptoms, vectors and treatment programs.

Politically, it's been done before. It's being talked about now. And "studies" like this one go a long way towards providing the ideological underpinnings of tyranny.

Are your friends making you fat? Or keeping you slender? According to new research from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, the short answer on both counts is "yes."

(link) [EurekAlert! - Breaking News]

19:20 /Politics | 2 comments | permanent link