The Scale (photo by Orchid, courtesy of morguefile.com)

There's been a lot of reaction, some of it quite heated, to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine about a study concluding that weight gain is linked to the weight gain of close friends. It seems the researchers have found that to be true even if your close friends live hundreds of miles away.

We're not quite sure what to make of this, but we do think it's time to add a little levity to the subject. So we're happy to provide a link below to a very amusing take on the topic by New York Times Columnist Gail Collins. (Subscription required.)

To read Ms. Collins column on friends causing friends to be overweight go to: Fat Comes in on Little Cat Feet