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Social Relationships and Obesity: Benefits of Incorporating a Lifecourse Perspective

  • Obesity Prevention (A Must, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Social networks reflect the structure of our interpersonal relationships. The effect of social networks on health is a topic of growing interest, particularly in an increasingly connected world. This review provides an overview of how social relations shape obesity risk and the effectiveness of network-based obesity interventions across the lifecourse. The review highlights that while the literature suggests obesity and related health behaviors are similar between socially connected individuals, why this is the case and how to effectively intervene remain unclear. In addition, the review outlines methodological gaps limiting our understanding of how social networks shape obesity risk throughout the lifecourse. Several implications for obesity prevention and research are offered, including the need to examine the relationship of social networks and obesity across rather than within lifecourse stages, continued development of statistical social network analysis methods, and the need for new cohort studies, particularly among children and the elderly.

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Conflict of Interest

Mark C. Pachucki and Elizabeth Goodman declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, 9th floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Mark C. Pachucki

  2. Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, 55 Fruit St, Mailstop M100C, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Mark C. Pachucki & Elizabeth Goodman

  3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Mark C. Pachucki & Elizabeth Goodman

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  1. Mark C. Pachucki
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  2. Elizabeth Goodman
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Goodman.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Obesity Prevention

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Pachucki, M.C., Goodman, E. Social Relationships and Obesity: Benefits of Incorporating a Lifecourse Perspective. Curr Obes Rep 4, 217–223 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0145-z

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