Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, The Miriam Hospital/Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Jun;19(6):1157-62. doi: 10.1038/oby.2010.301. Epub 2010 Dec 16.
Christakis and colleagues have shown that health behaviors cluster in social networks and suggest social norms may account for the clustering. This study examined: (i) whether obesity clusters among young adults and whether social norms do in fact account for the clustering, and (ii) among overweight/obese (OW/OB) young adults, whether number of social contacts trying to lose weight is associated with weight loss intentions and whether social norms for weight loss account for this effect. Normal weight (NW) and OW/OB young adults (N = 288; 66% female; 75% white) completed measures assessing number of OW social contacts and social norms for obesity. OW/OB young adults also indicated number of OW social contacts currently trying to lose weight, social norms for weight loss, and weight loss intentions. Compared to NW, OW/OB young adults were more likely to have OW romantic partners and best friends and had more OW casual friends and family members (Ps < 0.05), but social norms for obesity did not differ between groups, and social norms did not mediate the relationship between OW social contacts and participants' weight status. However, among OW/OB young adults, having more social contacts trying to lose weight was associated with greater intention to lose weight (r = 0.20, P = 0.02) and social norms for weight loss fully mediated this effect (P < 0.01). This study is the first to show that social contacts and normative beliefs influence weight status and intentions for weight control in young adults. Findings underscore the importance of targeting social influence in the treatment and prevention of obesity in this high-risk age group.
克里斯塔基斯及其同事已经表明，健康行为在社交网络中呈聚集性，并且社交规范可能是造成这种聚集的原因。本研究考察了：（i）肥胖是否在年轻人中呈聚集性，社交规范是否确实是造成这种聚集的原因；以及（ii）在超重/肥胖的年轻成年人中，试图减肥的社交联系人的数量是否与减肥意愿有关，以及社交减肥规范是否解释了这种影响。正常体重（NW）和超重/肥胖（OW/OB）的年轻成年人（N=288；66%为女性；75%为白人）完成了评估 OW 社交联系人数量和肥胖社交规范的测量。OW/OB 年轻成年人还报告了目前正在尝试减肥的 OW 社交联系人数量、减肥社交规范和减肥意愿。与 NW 相比，OW/OB 年轻成年人更有可能拥有 OW 浪漫伴侣和最好的朋友，并且有更多的 OW 普通朋友和家庭成员（P<0.05），但两组之间的肥胖社交规范没有差异，社交规范也没有介导 OW 社交联系人与参与者体重状况之间的关系。然而，在 OW/OB 年轻成年人中，有更多的社交联系人试图减肥与更大的减肥意愿相关（r=0.20，P=0.02），并且减肥社交规范完全介导了这种影响（P<0.01）。本研究首次表明，社交联系人与规范信念会影响年轻人的体重状况和控制体重的意愿。研究结果强调了在这个高风险年龄组中，针对社交影响进行肥胖治疗和预防的重要性。
