Bristol was buzzing with excitement this past weekend.  Rhythm and Roots Reunion 2015 is now history.  It was just a beautiful weekend, the weather, the music, and the people were all wonderful.

Each year I help organize a Team from Berry Home Centers in Abingdon and Chilhowie, to participate in the 2 mile walk and the 5K run.  This year was our 4th annual Rhythm and Roots and we had over 70 participants.  How wonderful it is to work for a company that values wellness, and encourages their employees towards a healthy lifestyle. We all encourage each other too, because some days are harder than others.  Berry’s will be matching the number of miles covered by all their employees with a monetary donation to the United Way Back Pack for Kids program. This is a program that packs food into backpacks of hungry children in southwest Virginia. The goal of the program is to meet the nutritional needs of children during the school year.

So we have learned at Berry’s that a culture of Wellness is definitely contagious.  Each year the number of participants has increased. As a matter of fact many studies prove that our wellness has a lot to do with the people we spend time with. We as human beings are very social creatures.  Seeing someone committed and consistent to their wellness will indeed influence others to do the same. So one might say that the ones you choose to spend most of your time with, can be a predictor of your health and quality of life.

Multiple studies confirm that enthusiastic friends are essential to developing and sustaining healthier fitness habits. Dieters can lose more weight if partnered with supportive friends, and exercisers get more motivated if paired with positive pals (Bell & Pliner 2003; Hogan, Linden & Najarian 2002; Marcoux, Trenkner & Rosenstock 1990; Verheijden et al. 2005; Wing & Jeffery 1999). But some relationships can have the opposite effect. Either way, it turns out that the company we keep has a profound impact on body size and exercise practices (Burke & Heiland 2007; Gruber 2008; Oygard & Klepp 1996).

According to a great article titled How Friends Influence Weight, by Martina Cartwright, PHD, RD in IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 9, Issue 2 on January 6, 2012,

Social modeling may hold the key to spreading healthy behaviors and curbing less-healthy ones. People who decide to adopt better eating habits may unknowingly influence their friends to do the same. The article goes on the say, the same holds true for exercise behaviors. As a whole, social influence is positively associated with exercise behaviors, intentions and attitudes.

So suffice to say that the company we keep has a great influence on our everyday healthy (or unhealthy) habits both nutritionally and activities.  As my parents used to say (multiple times) choose your friends wisely, Linda. They will influence you more than you know, iron sharpens iron. In other words, hang with people that you know will inspire you, not lead you to compromise who you are.

Great advice!

See you in the gym!