If you made a New Year's resolution and are already having trouble sticking to it, don't be too hard on yourself. It is not just a question of self will. Recent research shows that our behaviours and habits are more strongly influenced by friends and relatives than we might imagine. Furthermore, it seems that behaviours, ill-health and even moods pass through friendship networks across several degrees of separation, and we are almost bound to "catch" them (see page 24).rnThese findings have two important implications. The first is for public health. Governments tend to tackle issues such as smoking, alcoholism and unhealthy eating by focusing on individual behaviour (see below). Health campaigns could be a lot more effective if they accounted for the fact that society is not atomised. Our behaviours are determined to a great extent by what others are doing.
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