If your friend and family get fat, chances are you will, too. Researchers report in a new study

that  suggests  obesity(肥胖)  is “socially  contagious(传染性的)” and  can  spread  easily from  person

to person.

The large, federally funded study found that to be true even if your loved ones lived far away.

Social ties seemed to play a surprisingly strong role, even more than genes are known to do.

“We  were  shocked  to  find  that  friends  who  are  hundreds  of  miles  away  have  just  as  much impact  on  a  person's  weight  status  as  friends  who  are  right  next  door.”  Said  co-author  James

Fowler of the University of California, San Diego.

The  study  found  a  person's  chances  of  becoming  fat  went  up  57  percent  if  a  friend  did,  40 percent if a sibling(兄弟姐妹) did and 37 percent if a spouse(配偶) did.

Researchers  think  it's  more  than  just  people  with  similar  eating  and  exercise  habits  hanging out  together.  Instead,  it  may  be  that  having  relatives  and  friends  who  become  obese  changes  one's idea of what is an acceptable weight.

Despite  their  findings, the researchers said people should not stop their  friendships. “There is

a  ton  of  research  that  suggest  that  having  more  friends  makes  you  healthier，”  Fowler  said.“So the last thing that you want to do is get rid of any of your friends.”

The  study  was  published  in  Thursday's  New  England  Journal  of  Medicine  and  funded  by  the National Institute on Aging.

Obesity is a global public health problem. About 1.5 billion adults worldwide are overweight,

including more than 400 million who are obese. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or

obese.

Much  of  the  recent  research  focus  has  been  on  the  intense  hunt  for  obesity  genes  involved  in appetite or calorie burning. Treatment has been mainly centered on helping individuals curb(抑制)

their  weight  through  better  diet  and  fitness.  The  findings  could  open  a  new  way  for  treating  this worldwide obesity. The researchers said it might be helpful to treat obese people in groups instead

of just the individual.

68. Treating obesity at present is mainly by ________.

A. not keeping in touch with your relatives and friends

B. taking some loss-weight pills

C. going on proper diets and having right exercise

D. getting rid of obesity genes involved in appetite or calorie burning

69According to the new study, obesity is “socially contagious”，which seems to be mainly

caused by________.

A. genes  B. diets C. living conditions  D.  social ties

70. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 6 mean?

A．It is unwise for us to get rid of any of our friends because of obesity.

B．The best way of preventing obesity is to get rid of any of our friends.

C．If we want to keep fit, we must get rid of some friends.

D．We must make a good choice between obesity and friends.

71. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The new study suggests about 1.5 billion people worldwide are overweight.

B. Gene is one of the factors that have something to do with obesity.

C. Friendship and obesity are both of great importance.

D. It might be helpful to treat obese people just as the individual instead of in groups.