5 Ways Your Friends Are Good For Your Health

5 Ways Your Friends Are Good For Your Health

"You're not what you eat -- you're who you eat with," wrote Scientific American's Christie Nicholson, reporting on recent research examining why our friends' weight influences our own.

The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, found that overweight students were more likely to lose weight if they hung out with lean friends and gain weight if they hung out with obese friends, a clear nod to the influence of our social networks on our waistlines.

But the likelihood you'll fit into those skinny jeans isn't the only way your friends affect your health. In the slideshow below, we've rounded up some of the other healthy reasons to pick up the phone and call a friend today.

Friends Get You Moving

Health Benefits Of Friendship

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