Is Dieting Contagious?

AfterBefore

Last summer, The New York Times reported on a study published which stated, "...that people were most likely to become obese when a friend became obese. That increased a person’s chances of becoming obese by 57 percent."

Well, I've noticed the opposite to be true as well. As you may recall the popular Fox dramedy, Ally McBeal, received a lot of press about its quickly thinning stars. At the time, Portia deRossi, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and Calista Flockhart denied reports of eating disorders. Since then they have all come clean. All three women admit to suffering from bulimia and/or anorexia.

In addition, Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry lost a drastic amount of weight while filming the sitcom, Friends. Courtney Cox seemed to become noticeably slimmer as well. Later Perry admitted his drug addiction was the main cause of his extreme weight loss.

Grey's Anatomy has become the newest TV show to draw attention to its disappearing cast. Ellen Pompeo, Sara Ramirez, Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight seem to have lost a lot of weight since the series first began in 2004.

Is it possible that dieting and disordered eating are contagious as well?