Can Facebook Make You Skinny?

Sitting around reading Facebook news feeds all day and weighing friend requests might not sound like it would be the gateway to skinnydom, but then you might not be considering the power of friendship - even the virtual kind. According to research at the University of Georgia, it seems that self control (put down that Girl Scout cookie and back away!) is spread through social networks.

You are not only what you eat, but you are who you eat it with. The researchers found that watching someone eat a carrot (as opposed to, say, a carrot cake) amped up the viewers' self control. Visiting Assistant Professor in the UGA department of psychology Michelle vanDellen says, "The magnitude of the influence might be significant enough to be the difference between eating an extra cookie at a party or not, or deciding to go to the gym despite a long day at work. The effect isn't so strong that it absolves people of accountability for their actions, but it is a nudge toward or away from temptation."

Myatt Murphy is a fitness expert who suggests that if you don't want to be a Fatty Boombatty, check your list of Facebook friends and pay special attention to those who are on the fast track to sleekness. He believes you may find your fitness muse in them and (effortlessly) mimic their behaviors. In fact, he also suggests making new online friends who model healthy behaviors (no snack attacks here, please) to help you stay motivated and maintain self control. And according to a press release just published on PRNewswire, it appears that you'd be in good company. There are 36 million unique visitors a month to diet, fitness, and beauty websites, including 3.6 million via Facebook alone.

It's estimated that one out of every 11 minutes is spent on a social networking site and there's no reason to feel guilty about it — not even a little bit, at least not when you know there's an opportunity to improve your well-being by watching your Facebook friends get fitter, not fatter.

Photo by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr.