"       "Both obesity and thinness are socially contagious," says study co-author James Fowler, an associate professor of political science at the University of California-San Diego."

"       At the heart of the matter is the sharing of acceptable norms for weight, not just sharing the same eating-and-exercise habits, says internist Nicholas Christakis, also a study author and a professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School. If someone you care about gains weight, your notion of an acceptable body size may change. You may decide it's OK to go up a couple of sizes, he says."

"       About a third of Americans are obese, about 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight, which increases their risk of heart disease, diabetes and other problems."

"       In the study, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging, researchers examined social ties among 12,067 people in the Framingham (Mass.) Heart Study, a multigeneration collection of data covering 32 years."

"       — When people become obese, the risk of their closest friends becoming obese over the next two to four years increases by 171 percent; the risk for their casual friends increases by 57 percent; their siblings' risk, 40 percent; their spouse, 37 percent."

"       — The reverse also is true. When one person sheds pounds, it has a ripple effect and increases
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