How Friends Can Influence a Person's Health

Your own personal health can depend on a variety of outside factors, such as the environment where you live and your economic status. The friendships and support networks you form can also have a big impact on you as well. When you spend a lot of time around a friend, you may take a cue from his behaviors or habits, thereby affecting your well-being. Similarly, a friend's advice or positive reinforcement may improve your moods, which can also enhance your health.

Mental Health

• Having a friend constantly berate you can severely damage your self-esteem, according to an article on KidsHealth.org. If the friend is making hurtful comments about your appearance, this can lead to body image issues. On the other hand, a friend who compliments your appearance and attributes can be a boon for your mental health.

Physical Health

• The way your friends take care of themselves physically can have an impact on your own health. When your close friend gains weight, you are more likely to follow suit reports a 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which was led by Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School. In fact, your friend's obesity can increase your chances of becoming obese by 57 percent, the study found. However, the researchers observed the same effect for weight loss. If your friend takes on a new diet and trades doughnuts for gym attire, you are also likely to follow her lead.

Bad Habits

• The same team who researched the obesity epidemic found another link between friends and bad habits in 2010. People were 50 percent more likely to be heavy drinkers if one of their friends or family members imbibed alcohol as well. The same effect held if the friends abstained from drinking, or only drank socially. However, the researchers also noted that a woman's drinking habits had more influence over her friends than that of a man's.

Moods

• If you have a close social connection who's feeling lonely, that can compromise your well-being. A lonely friend increases your risk of loneliness by 52 percent, as noted in a 2009 study led by John Cacioppo, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Chicago. Loneliness can impact your health, putting you at risk for depression, alcoholism, heart disease and a weakened immune system.