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A model of social influence on body mass index
Author(s) -
Hammond Ross A.,
Ornstein Joseph T.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.12344
Subject(s) - leverage (statistics) , mechanism (biology) , grounded theory , body mass index , psychology , intervention (counseling) , public health , social psychology , behavioural sciences , sociology , computer science , social science , medicine , artificial intelligence , epistemology , psychotherapist , qualitative research , philosophy , nursing , pathology , psychiatry
In this paper, we develop an agent‐based model of social influence on body weight. The model's assumptions are grounded in theory and evidence from physiology, social psychology, and behavioral science, and its outcomes are tested against longitudinal data from American youth. We discuss the implementation of the model, the insights it generates, and its implications for public health policy. By explicating a well‐grounded dynamic mechanism, our analysis helps clarify important dependencies for both efforts to leverage social influence for obesity intervention and efforts to interpret clustering of BMI in networks.