Do you have a big belly? Well, one of the key reasons behind the extra flab could be your friends, says a new research, which found that spending time with fat people can increase a person’s chances of becoming obese.

According to the study, which was conducted by University of Warwick researchers, people are influenced by the weight of those around them without being aware of it, leading to a “spiral of obesity”.

The study has been presented at the National Bureau of Economic Research conference in Cambridge. Using data on 27,000 Europeans from 29 countries, the researchers find that nearly half of European women feel overweight. Less than a third of males feel overweight.

–Source Times of India