Nicholas Christakis of Harvard and James Fowler of the University of California at San Diego have observed 32 volunteers in various communities, both real and virtual, for 12 years.
Longitudinal analysis results were presented at the International Workshop and Conference on Network Science.
Comparative studies were conducted on several indicators: weight, emotional states, smoking, general physical condition and even cardiovascular disease.
During the experiment, scientists tried to understand whether health problems can be transmitted to friends, colleagues and relatives.
In particular, it turned out that in a circle of acquaintances of a person with overweight problems, the risk of becoming obese increases by 57%, and this figure is statistically significant not only for direct friends: the coefficient of depth of distribution is a chain of three people.
A similar picture was observed for other health conditions – for example, “happiness” and depression.
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