Disclaimer: Not Medical Advice. Opinions are my own.
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"You are the sum of the five people you surround yourself with." - Jim Rohn
Whether you recognize it or not, your environment significantly impacts the choices you make.
The people you spend the most time with, what you watch on your phone or TV, all influence your beliefs, thoughts, and daily actions.
Your health is no exception.
Your environment shapes your health more than you may realize.
In today's newsletter, we will explore how much your environment, friends, and coworkers can impact your health and, most importantly, what you can do about it.
What is Normal?
What we eat, how often we go to the gym, and even our daily routines feel extremely individualized. However, we don't make those decisions in a vacuum.
Our environment plays an equally—if not more—powerful role in shaping health outcomes.
Your parents, friends, peers, and coworkers' health habits all shape your perspective.
They shape your version of what is normal.
The meals you ate growing up, the activities your friends enjoy, and the type of workspace your coworkers create all mold what's 'normal' to you.
This influence of 'normal' affects your level of physical activity, eating habits, and your overall approach to wellness.
Obesity is Socially Contagious: Here's What the Data Shows
In 2007, researchers published a landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed over 12,000 people for 32 years.1 What they found was shocking:
- If a close friend became obese, your risk of becoming obese increased by 57%
- If a sibling became obese, your risk increased by 40%
- If a spouse became obese, your risk increased by 37%
Surprisingly, this effect occurred even when people lived far apart.
This wasn’t about sharing the same fridge. It was shared norms.
What researchers concluded was simple but not obvious: our behaviors — and even our perception of what’s “normal” — spread through social networks.
Health is contagious, and so is unhealthy behavior.
The Bottom Line: Be the Change
Awareness is the first step.
The intellectual honesty to examine your environment and ask:
• What behaviors are normalized around me?
• What foods are constantly available?
• How often do the people around me exercise?
• What narratives are repeated about health?
I want to be clear: the solution isn't about blaming or assigning fault to others.
At the end of the day, there are multiple factors in your control.
The data strongly suggest that obesity is socially contagious; conversely, the opposite is also true.
Witnessing friends, family members, and coworkers exercising and eating well increases the likelihood that others will follow suit.
So what's the takeaway?
Be the change.
You can be the friend, the family member, the coworker who starts to shift the curve in the positive direction.
Be the reason others make choices towards a healthier, happier life.
What Makes Rho Different
Rho Nutrition because they bring something different to your fridge.
Rho offers third-party-tested liposomal delivery products. Why does this matter? Most pills and powders lose a significant amount of the active ingredient during digestion.
Rho encapsulates each nutrient (creatine, glutathione, NAD+, curcumin, collagen, etc.) within a tiny liposome that survives the gut and ferries the compound intact into the bloodstream.
Liposomal delivery helps ensure that the vitamins and supplements you purchase are getting absorbed and not lost during digestion.
My personal morning Rho stack is their liposomal creatine, glutathione, DIM+, and NAD+, and before bed, I take their liposomal magnesium.
The founders, Ryan and George, firmly believe you will feel the Rho difference, but if you're not satisfied, they offer a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Click here to save 20% and add Rho to your daily routine
Only the best,
Jeremy London, MD
P.S. Don't forget to follow my podcast for free on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
