The obesity epidemic is multi-faceted. The two facets that we cover most frequently in these blogs are the easy availability of food designed to increase consumption while delivering virtually nothing in the way of nutrients and how our lifestyle has rendered almost motionless as we either ride or sit most of the day. These two facet are enough to “ensure” obesity, but a third facet may have a significant impact.

The third facet that I am referring to is social. Where someone lives - reflective their socioeconomic status - and their relationship with other people, have been found to play important roles. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that moving from a neighborhood with a high level of poverty to one with a lower level of poverty is related to a reduction in body mass index (BMI). The study focused on one woman from each family in the study and found a 13% reduction in BMI over 35 and a 19% reduction in BMI over 40. Raising awareness that our environment plays a significant role in our eating habits, and therefore our health, is significant.

Another social aspect is the effect that friends and families have on obesity. In an interesting study published is 2007, researchers found that a person's chances of becoming obese was related to a social connection with an obese person. An animation gives an overview of the social network in the study. A few interesting findings from the study are:

• If person A and person B are in a mutual friendship, A's risk of becoming obese increases by 171% if B becomes obese.
• If A considers B to be a friend, but B does not consider A to be a friend. A's risk of becoming obese if B becomes obese is 57% percent.
• A woman's risk of becoming obese increased 67% if her sister became obese.
• A person was 37% more likely to become obese if the spouse became obese.

In "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think", Brian Wansink provides data on how the social aspect plays out on a individual level. In the book, he includes psychology professor John DeCastro's research on how eating with another person or persons affects how much we eat. The research shows that on average:

• A person dining with another person eats 36% more.
• A person dining with three other people with eat 75% more.
• A person eating with a group of seven or more eat 96% more.

Wansink states that when we eat with others, we let them influence us by setting the pace of the meal and the quantity of food we eat. Experiments with two people in snacking situations show that a person will typically eat the same amount of snack food as the other person.

The purpose of Wansink's book is to make use mroe mindful when we eat and so that we make conscious decisions about the quality and quantity of food we eat. His suggestions include:

• Try to be the last person to start eating.
• Pace yourself with the slowest eater at the table.
• Avoid the "just one more helping" request (and temptation) by always leaving some food on your plate as if you're still eating.
• Decide how much to eat before the meal instead of during the meal.

People are influenced by other people; that is a fact. It means that while being mindful of your own self, selecting healthier food and eating quantities that are right for you, you can influence others to do the same; influence is a two-way street.