Research
Adherence
Pinning the weight of a small, random fraction (≤1%) of the population to a normal BMI, combined with increased social volatility, can reverse obesity trends and convert the majority of the population to a healthier weight.
Public health campaigns that create a 'controversy' or strong social discussion around weight loss, combined with visible support for a small group maintaining healthy weights, can trigger a broader shift in social norms toward healthier weights.
LimitedSupportsLOW confidence
Simulations show that pinning the weight of some random but very small percentage of the population (≤1%) while increasing social volatility will effectively stabilize or improve the BMI distribution.
Why this rating
Based on simulations; 'social volatility' is a theoretical construct.
Source
Exploiting Social Networks to Mitigate the Obesity Epidemic
David B. Bahr et al. · Obesity · 2009
DOI 10.1038/oby.2008.615
mechanism_onlyCited 195×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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