Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
Soc Sci Med. 2012 Oct;75(7):1175-83. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.024. Epub 2012 Jun 19.
Researchers and policymakers from diverse fields are engaged in efforts to understand the biological and social causes of obesity in order to develop policies, interventions, and recommendations to stop or reverse increases in obesity. One potentially promising approach is to harness influence from social contacts. An important foundation for this approach involves critically analyzing available data regarding whether and how body weight can be affected by close social contacts, especially friends. This systematic review examines evidence from published studies addressing the influences of friends on body weight. The majority of the sixteen studies conclude that there is evidence of influence: six reported that friends influence body weight and ten reported evidence of influence in some circumstances or specifications. However, this literature sheds little light on mechanisms of influence. There is limited evidence that friends' communication about weight is associated with weight status and no compelling evidence that friends' behaviors affect one's weight. Many of the studies best designed to examine influence were the ones that did not explore mechanisms of influence. A priority for future research is to understand how, when, and how much friends affect the risk of obesity.
研究人员和政策制定者来自不同领域，都在努力了解肥胖的生物学和社会原因，以便制定政策、干预措施和建议来阻止或扭转肥胖的增加。一种有希望的方法是利用社会联系的影响力。这种方法的一个重要基础是批判性地分析关于体重是否以及如何受到亲密社会联系（尤其是朋友）影响的现有数据。本系统综述考察了关于朋友对体重影响的已发表研究的证据。这十六项研究中的大多数得出了有影响的证据：六项研究报告称朋友影响体重，十项研究报告称在某些情况下或特定条件下有影响的证据。然而，这一文献并没有揭示影响的机制。有有限的证据表明朋友关于体重的交流与体重状况有关，但没有令人信服的证据表明朋友的行为会影响一个人的体重。许多最适合研究影响的研究并没有探讨影响的机制。未来研究的一个重点是了解朋友在多大程度上、何时以及如何影响肥胖的风险。
