Adolescent Affiliations and Adiposity: A Social Network Analysis of Friendships and Obesity

Friendship choices and BMI were measured for 617 adolescents 11-15 years of age. Overweight youth were twice as likely to have overweight friends. There was a weak association between social position and weight status. Overweight youth nominated more friends but were nominated as friends less frequently than their normal weight peers. (c) 2009 Society for Adolescent Medicine. All rights reserved.