Our social relations contribute to developing bad habits to no lesser extent than genes and upbringing, according to medical research by Harvard University that appears in the recent issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
Over 30 years the researchers have been studying the link between obesity, alcohol abuse and smoking with behavioral patterns adopted by large social groups. They found that the impact of social surroundings on our health is as important as genes or family habits. If your friend is a heavy drinker, you double your risk of becoming alcoholic. The researchers hope their findings will help use social networks to set positive behavioral patterns to promote healthy lifestyle among general public.
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