Researchers Nicholas Christakis of the Harvard Medical School and James Fowler of USC assert weight gain may be related to social networks. That is to say, if your friends put on some weight, you might too.

In short: overweight Americans should expect the cold shoulder from friends.

This information debuts the week AFTER Hairspray, a movie that promotes tolerance and acceptance of all body shapes/sizes.
 
So thanks, Christakis. You’ve just undermined the democratic values promoted by John Travolta-in-drag.