Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

I think this correlates to another UK-based survey, which says that people spend more time social networking online than they do in person!

It was something like 10 hours/week...

I don't think the study has anything to do with online social networks. I think it's about the famous Framingham heart study. I think it's basically saying obese people cluster together in a social network in the physical world.

Well, I haven't read the study either (I must have watched some video version of it or something) but it's been recycled in just about every newspaper around here: "being friends with fat people increases your risk of being fat!" -- see how that's going to be understood? OMG, fat is contagious!

But as you say:

"the animation could just as easily be demonstrating that people cluster according to body mass index"

That's the first thing I thought when I saw the headlines here. Maybe the reporters are getting cause and effect mixed up.

And then I wonder. Is thinking that a demonstration of sharp, out-of-the-ordinary critical thinking? Not to belittle your comment, of course -- but it seems pretty obvious to me; however, I don't see many people around here taking that small leap: they're swallowing the "fat breeds fat" idea whole, instead. So, maybe I'm underestimating my powers of critical thinking... ;-)