"Social Contagions": Another One Infected

Over the years, I've been privileged to see people around me become runners. I would like to think their attraction to the sport had something to do with me and my love of running, and perhaps it did. The first person who comes to mind is my 3rd cousin Matt, from Missouri, who joined me in a 5K race one summer and then ended up becoming a track star in high school and college. Others include college roommates and housemates who began to run with me and now do triathlons with their runner husbands; friends from church who kicked up their exercise/running regime to run 13 miles, enter races, and compete in triathlons; and a missionary companion who reads this blog and is now training for a half marathon.

One of my favorite columns in Runner's World Magazine is the "Newbie Chronicles." In fact, there's an old blog post of mine with links to the first few articles by Marc Parent. They're entertaining and worth the read. Recently he wrote about a study that I found interesting:

"Two years ago, social scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler used the same data to make a startling discovery: Happiness is contagious, as are other good behaviors like quitting smoking and staying thin. These and their opposites—obesity, depression, and cigarettes with coffee—appear to spread between people as if they were viruses; groups of friends "infect" one another with good or bad habits. The science underlying the mechanisms by which the researchers arrived at their findings is detailed in the July 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, but it was The New York Times that recently drew what might be the boldest conclusion from the results, reporting, "Staying healthy isn't just a matter of your genes and your diet—good health is also a product, in part, of your sheer proximity to other healthy people.""

This is so true! I find it a lot easier to have a late-night bowl of ice cream if Peter is having one. Likewise, if I'm around my fit yoga instructor or my pretty-much-a-sister-in-law who's a health nut, I'm determined to take care of my body and eat right. After all, I might not have signed up for my first half marathon if it weren't for my friend Nikki who ran a full marathon not too long after having her second child.

My dad made a comment after watching Saturday's race, and I was reminded that he said the same thing after my race in February. "I think I'm going to start running." Well Dad, you said it, and I wrote it down, so now that it's an official goal, let's do it!