Loneliness Considered Contagious??

Have you ever though that the feeling of loneliness would be considered contagious? Even though we may think that loneliness occurs when one is by him/herself and isolated, the feeling of loneliness can actually occur when we are with other people in our social networks. New research shows that loneliness can spread from person to person within the social networks they are involved in. The results were posted in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology as well as in a book called "Connected." The book looks at how obesity, smoking, happiness, and may other things can be spread from person to person.

Researchers have done studies about a group of people and their levels of loneliness. They also looked at the participants' friends and their levels of loneliness. They were able to study this group a couple of times through a span of a few years. By doing this, they were able to see how levels of loneliness had changed, and whether they had spread among the people in their social networks. The research shows that if you have direct contact with someone in your social network who is lonely, you are 52 percent more likely to be lonely too. At two degrees of seperation, such as a friend of a friend, you are 25 percent more likely to be lonely. At three degrees of seperation, the percentage moves down to 15 percent.

Dr. John Cacioppo, a psychologist, talks about how people like to be around others that they trust, like, and have strong bonds with. When an individual starts to question those bonds or if the trust may chance, we may feel lonely because those people aren't as present in our hearts and lives as they once were. We focus so much on interaction and strong friendships that when things change, we feel alone.

So, what do you think? Can you feel lonely even when you are around quite a few people from your social network? Is loneliness contagious? Do you think that it spreads easily?

College Requiring Physical Fitness for Graduation

Do you know what your BMI, or Body Mass Index, is? Do you know if that number is healthy on the scale for body mass?

For your information, a body mass index of over 30 is considered to be reflective of obesity. I've calculated my body mass index several times in my life, and I am technically "slightly overweight" according to the scale.

I'm sure most, if not all, of us have taken a fitness and wellness course at some point in our college careers and schooling. These health and fitness classes allow students to learn more about what it takes to live a healthy life. Exercise is a prime focus in these courses.

But, what if your body mass index determined whether or not you would be required to complete a physical fitness course in order to graduate? This exact situation is taking place at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. At Lincoln, students with a body mass index over 30 are required to participate in a fitness class called "Fitness for Life" where they are able to participate in water aerobics, Tai Bo, and aerobic dance. I'm sure several other activities are offered as well. Some students find the class and program to be just fine. It offers anyone the chance to learn more about physical fitness. In one way, I understand the need for physical fitness courses in college, but it also brings up controversial topics such as privacy. Students should not be required to take the course just because of their size and weight. I completely agree that a class should be required for every student, but placing certain students into another category seems kind of harsh.

Now, when I took fitness and wellness as a freshman, I took it in the summer as an online course. That sounds really weird, I know. It was somewhat strange having an online course that involved physical activity. I think I would have liked to experience from a face-to-face point of view. We were asked to calculate our body mass index as well as other factors that made up our physical fitness profile. All of the information that we gathered helped us to define what areas of fitness we wanted to work on, and the areas that we exceled in as well. I enjoyed some of the activities that we were asked to perform, and I wish that I continued my physical fitness activities more.

Now, I still run and exercise fairly often, but there are definitely things that I want to work towards. Currently, my sister and I are training for a 5K as part of the Fargo Marathon this spring. Do you have any physical fitness goals? What do you think about physical fitness courses and their requirements and activities?