Social Contagion

We discussed on this blog before the possibility that obesity may be socially contagious:

Nicholas Christakis, professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, said: "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 OK to be bigger since those around them are bigger, and this sensibility spreads."

Now new research from the New England Jouranl of Medicine has found a similar pattern with smoking cessation: A smoker is more likely to kick the habit if a spouse, friend, co-worker or sibling did.

"Your smoking behavior depends upon not just the smoking behavior of the people you know, but also the people who they know" and so on...

said Dr. Nicholas Christakis, also lead author of the new report.