this is one of the dumbest things i have ever read! it does'nt take a "study" to determine these factors! there is an old saying "you are who you run with". it can be crack, alcohol, weed and yes, even twinkies! i hope this "study" was not funded by our tax dollars!

trey, alabama,

I am utterly stunned by the fantastic genius and sensitive research of our modern scientists! I suggest people should carry a tag with their weight so that we can calculate the risk factor of befriending obese people. Maybe fat people should live in ghettos, and like the lepers in the middle ages, should have a rattle to warn others. Personally I shall befriend only female skeletons from today on. (I'm off to the graveyard)

Rolf-Peter Wille, Taipei, Taiwan

This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a very long time. Of course peoples' weight would correspond to their close friends and relatives: they eat together at meals and even cook for each other. I have a feeling these scientists just wanted to blame their own weight gain on everyone but themselves.

Richard, New York, New York

Come on now INCREASE your risk? You media folks' silly word twisting is irritating. You are talking about obesity between friends and family being related; they are not a cause. The fact is, you are likely to engage in similar behavior as your friends and family but that doesn't make them the cause; you are still the cause. Statistics like this are often interrelated but that does not mean that relationships are causes. This is silly. Do yourself a favor and go get a brain before writing such ignorance again.

Kevin, Chicago, IL

I am somewhat surprised that Steve from Manor Park can bear to tear himself away from the mirror long enough to employ anyone. I am also slightly dumbfounded as to why anyone would wish to work with him, such a priggish and arrogant attitude would drive me up the wall in no time.

I am overweight. So what. I don't waste my life in bothering about the things I cannot really change. Life is for living, and if you can get through your human experience without venting your spleen upon others with a different shape to you, the world would be a happier and better place. The only social contagion which is the scourge of the civilised (and I use that term loosely) world, is the need for people to seize upon the latest thing and use it to be spiteful. Whether it be a "scientific" study or a social networking website, spite and viciousness is taking over. That's a real worry.

SarahJane, Leatherhead, England

And if your friends are stupid you probably will be too or drug addicts or gang bangers or psycho-babblers who do ridiculously bad statistical studies like these. Yes, DUH, we tend to do what our friends do and spend time with people who have similar interests, problems and backgrounds. If you were fat and lethargic it would be pretty hard to befriend too many skinny athletic people. Responsible scientists should stop this sort of nonsense from being proffered on the public.

carminejd, Pittsburgh,

ive been around fatties all my life, i actually come from a family of fatties and yet i have always stayed slim and very attractive!
i always thought ill never get to be in a state like that. i have refused to employ people until they take some pride in themselves and loose some weight, and if they then did just that id give them something energetic to do.

steve, manor park, london uk

Don't quote statistics in a vacuum.

Increased by 57% of what? From 3% to 60%; 43% to 100%?

Go to school and learn some math.

Of course people hang with those who reinforce their weaknesses. Duh!

Quijote, Marbella,

these are casual statistical observations that prove nothing. LIke much modern scientific "research," it may be deposited in the garbage can.

drake, charleston, sc

I thought obesity was genetic? If so, it will not matter whether you have thin or fat friends. If it not genetic, then are we now to blame friends and environments? Nature or Nuture?

A long time ago I was interested in this matter, genuinely so. But the debate whether obesity is genetic or not is now analagous to watching a ceaseless scientific pro-tennis match.

The Ancients say treat your body like a Temple for your soul. Every day polish, sand and keep your Temple clean and strong. This is not scientific but it has sufficient ambiguity in it to offer exact advice.

yangpu6, Shanghai, China

if your related, when you get together at family events or even just family dinners you eat the same foods. the calories in those foods are the same no matter who is eating them. If you eat the same foods and participate in the same kind of activities (freinds or relatives) you are going to have the same kind of hygene and weight class.

I think its pretty clear that obese people generally hang out with other obese people in order to more easily be accepted, this includes eating together. Friends that are 100's of miles away did not become friends randomly, they obviously lived near each other or hung out together at some time in there life. Have you ever radically changed your diet because a friend moved away?

If an obese mother eats fried chicken all day at home, do you expect the children to not become obese?! there is fried chicken everywhere! and they are taught that this way of eating is acceptable.
was this study necessary or informative? i think not

Brad, Newton, USA