跑步會傳染？論找個瘦朋友的重要性

You might find it superfluous or tiresome when friends share their times for their latest mile run on social media.
朋友們在社交網絡上分享自己最近一次長跑的里程數，你可能覺得這種行爲既膚淺又磨人。

But a new study finds that it will actually motivate you: Exercise, it turns out, can be contagious.
不過，新研究證實，他們的行爲其實對你有激勵作用哦：事實證明，運動是會傳染的！

The study examined exercise habits of more than one million runners across a five-year period.
這項研究歷時五年，對超過一百萬名長跑者的鍛鍊習慣進行了調查。

"Knowing the running behaviors of your friends as shared on social networks can cause you to run farther, faster, and longer," study author and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Sinan Aral said.
“通過社交網絡瞭解到朋友在進行體育鍛煉，這能激勵你鍛鍊時跑得更遠、更快、時間更長。”該研究項目的研究作者，麻省理工學院Sinan Aral教授說。

Previous studies on health and lifestyle have found similar contagions for phenomena like obesity, anxiety and weight loss.
在有關健康與生活方式的前期研究中，人們已經發現在肥胖、焦慮和減肥等事情上也有類似的傳染現象。

Pinning down this effect has limitations, though, like people's propensity for following others like them.
不過必須一提的是，這種傳染現象也有侷限性，比如人們是否傾向於受同類人的影響。

Plus, they included self-reported estimates from the people themselves on their eating or exercise habits.
同時，人們對自己的飲食習慣、鍛鍊習慣的自我評估也要考慮在內。

The running was more contagious for men than for women, in that they ran longer distances or at a speedier pace if their male friends shared what they did.
男性比女性更容易在鍛鍊上受他人影響，當他們的男性朋友曬出自己的運動成就時，他們鍛鍊時跑出的路程更遠，速度也更快。

The same goes for their female friends but it wasn't as significant.
這種現象在女性身上同樣存在，但並沒有男性那麼顯著。

On the other hand, women apparently didn't pay much mind to their male friends and nearly exclusively changed up their patterns only based on other women.
不僅如此，女性對自己的異性朋友顯然不太關注，她們改變自己的鍛鍊模式幾乎完全是受其他女性的影響。