Three Degrees of Health and Habits

Say you want to quit smoking. One trick is to find a friend who also smokes and then quit together. Co-quitters motivate each other to stick with the program throughout pangs and rough patches. The same team-based approach applies to those wanting to change their diet, start exercising, or cut back on drinking.

Researchers Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler are leading the charge to determine what role social connections play in public health. They’ve identified evidence spanning decades that implies that behaviors can radiate beyond close friends and affect a wide circle of people. If their theory has it right, then happiness, depression, drinking, smoking, exercising and overeating pass from person to person like a contagious virus, and public health initiatives targeting individuals are doomed to fail.

Clive Thompson picked up the controversial topic of “social contagion” for The New York Times Magazine, and he joins us to explain.

New York Times Magazine: Is Happiness Catching?

Wired: How Medical Data Revealed the Secret to Health and Happiness

(Photo by Ian Kershaw via Flickr/Creative Commons)