Make Losing Weight a Family Affair

A study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that obesity is "socially contagious"  -  if  you have a friend who is obese, your chances of also becoming obese rise by 57 percent. 

Although there has been much talk of the 'fat virus' dubbed AD-36, the word 'contagion' here does not refer to a virus.  There has been no hard evidence that fat is not catching in the classic sense, i.e. through a bug or infection. 

Fat as social contagion refers to the the transmission not of a virus, but  of behaviors, e.g.  you join in on the weekly happy hours, pizza ordering etc, and evolving social norms e.g. people you admire/respect gain weight; both change your perceptions of what is normal/OK for your social circle, including you.   

Fear Not the Fat!   Just as fat seems to be catching, so does fat loss.  Dr. Nicholas Christakis (Harvard Medical School) reports in the NEJM study that weight loss was also contagious—people who considered themselves the friends of newly slim friends reported theylost weight themselves.

This supports the research from the Stanford School of Medicine bariatric surgery program ( published in the Arhcives of Surgery) which shows that when a patient has gastric bypass,   family members show a tendency to lose weight, eat better and exercise more; the finding was dubbed  gastric bypass ripple effect. 

At Health Travel Guides we see evidence of this all the time. Like this story of an Arizona husband and wife team losing a combined 150 pounds!

"Former co-workers don't recognize me!"

My husband had Gastric Plication surgery with Health Travel Guides in January, 2011. Following his surgery, I modified my eating habits and accelerated my activity and was able to lose approximately 30 lbs prior to my own weight loss surgery in September, 2011.

Since surgery I have lost 45+ lbs more.  I started weight and strength training twice a week in January 2012 and added Zumba Gold twice a week, in addition to working in the yard on nearly a daily basis. I have gone from a size 1X/2X or 18/20 clothing to Medium/Large or 12/14/16 since surgery.  Friends and former co-workers do not know me when they see me now. I am extremely happy with my progress as well as my husband's progress (75+ lbs) since surgery. We both look much better, feel much better, have much more energy and stamina, and both feel far healthier than prior to surgery. In fact, he is now off blood pressure and cholesterol medication..   

Weight Loss Drugs, Weight Loss Surgery Options
With more than a third of US adults obese, and fully two-thirds overweight, there is obviously a 'big' market for weight loss alternatives - everything from pills to new surgical procedures.  Weight loss surgery alternatives are increasingly minimally invasive, and geared to help patients get a jump start on the road to health.  Topping the list are the sleeve plication sugery with no resection and no devices, and the new Green Zone Weight Loss Surgery Options made possible by Irish medical device maker Crospon.