Optional:

Deeper Reading:

Original Study by Christakis and Fowler: The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years. NEJM. July 26, 2007.

Critique of this study: Lyons.

The Spread of Evidence-Poor Medicine via Flawed Social-Network Analysis. Statistics, Politics, and Policy: (2011) Vol. 2 : Iss. 1, Article 2. Last revised 5 May 2011

Watch: Catherine Kerr on Cortical Measures in Mindfulness Meditation at Quantified Self.

Personal account of Weight Watchers by Laura Beck at Jezebel.

Assignment:

When developing ideas and concepts for our student projects, and future projects, business ideas, and save-the-world ideas, we often start by designing for ourselves.

For this assignment, research a part of the world at a local level (city, state, province, county) that has a problem with obesity. The only requirement: pick somewhere that you have never been.

In a one page essay, describe the social, cultural, technological, economic, and other conditions of this region that may be contributing to a growth in the prevalence of obesity.  You may choose to write a non-fiction account or take this as a creative writing assignment – imagining a first person day-in-the-life account of what it feels like to live here.

You will be asked to present your work, so practice rehearsing your in class presentation at least two times.