Being Thin Can Also Be Contagious

Last week, we posted an excerpt on how being overweight or obese can influence others around you to be overweight as well. Studies also show the reverse to be true…that if you diet and are in good shape, it will influence your friends and family to do the same.

Friendship can be fattening. Mallory Melichar, 22, of Auburn, Ala., is living proof. She and her best friend steadily gained weight while sharing an apartment at Auburn University.

“If you have a friend who is gaining weight and you are gaining weight, you tend to ignore it,” says Melichar, another in USA TODAY’s Weight-Loss Challenge.

Then her best friend got worried about her health and decided to slim down, and it wasn’t long before Melichar followed. She now weighs 185 pounds, down from her high of 238 in May 2006.

“It helps to have someone who knew you when you were fat and knows the struggle you’ve had with trying to lose weight,” she says. “It forms a bond that no one else really has with you.”