Do your friends make you fat? Some Niles residents say no
Published 5:49 pm Saturday, July 28, 2007
By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – There's a new study that says our friends could be making us fat, but a number of Niles area residents apparently disagree.
The study, which was conducted by James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, found that if someone's friend becomes obese or is obese, their chance of being overweight or obese increase by more than half.
While this has earned world-wide recognition, those the Niles Daily Star spoke to on Friday say it's simply not true.
"I don't base my lifestyle on what my friends do," Autumn Merrill said. "I guess I'm just not easily influenced. I think a lot of the overweight issue has to do with the amount of depression. A lot of people are depressed right now, which is unfortunate, but that leads to overeating."
Merrill, who works for the Lakeland Athletic Club, said she enjoys her job because it motivates her to stay in shape.
Beth Dorsodi, who is making a scene in the modeling industry, also disagrees.
"You are your own person. Your friends don't make decisions for you. If you see your friend doing something bad for them, like eating unhealthy, you don't have to do it," she said.
Dorsodi has to stay in shape to look great in front of the cameras. She said keeping her weight down is simple, and it can be to anyone else.
"I walk a lot, eat healthy and get to the gym as often as I can. It's not too hard to live a healthy life," she added.
Taylor Fuller is very involved with sports and said all of her friends are as well.
"We do a lot of the same things, but we also stay active. We have our times when we all get together and pig out, but we don't go overboard. We play sports and do things to keep us in shape like go to the YMCA and work out," she said.
She said she doesn't think someone could become overweight just because of how their friends live.
"Just because they do something, doesn't mean you have to."
Mark Russelton said he can see where influence would be an issue, but everyone is resonponsible for the decisions they make.
"It goes back to the old phrase 'If someone tells you to jump off the bridge, are you going to?' So if someone tells you to eat a Big Mac are you going to? My friends and I all have a lot in common as far as our lifestyles. We work out, like the same sports and do a lot of the same things. We eat good, but do splurge every now and then. But we don't go buy a bunch of candy bars and sit in front of a television," he said.
Alicia Tonkin said the study may not be that accurate, especially since her and her friends use each other for encouragement.
"If we want to lose weight we go on diets together or work out together. It just doesn't seem like that would make people gain weight," she said.
While the study may suggest our closest pals could have an effect on our weight, most residents feel it's like all other studies, "There's too many of them. Everyday there is a new study – chocolate is bad for you, chocolate is good for you, eat more carbs, eat no carbs. I don't even really listen to the studies and researches anymore," Russelton added.