At we frequently do not have adequately detailed info on individuals’ social networks (or the strength of social influence).As discussed earlier, this issue can be overcome if we collect network data as a part of the design and style of research.However, even when such info isn’t available, we are able to make use of the wealth of readily available information on qualitative properties of networks and how these relate to the spread of behaviours.A more detailed mapping of such qualitative properties to wellness outcomes and to cost effectiveness would be really beneficial for the design of optimal policies.The technique of using positions in networks (boundary spanning) to target remedy was utilised in this paper.There’s a will need to explore other networks, and also other targeting methods.Ultimately, even when information on social networks is unavailable correlations among observable characteristics of people (such as age, occupation or ethnic group) and their position in networks could possibly be helpful.As an illustration, if the young are additional most likely to become boundary spanners then, even devoid of specific details about individuals’ positions in networks, remedy policies might be devised depending on age.Acknowledgements We thank Dr Ritu Agarwal and Mr P Kenyon Crowley for helpful discussions.We are grateful towards the reviewers for their thoughtful recommendations.Contributors Both authors conceived and created the study.CK programmed and ran the simulations.KP took the lead in drafting the manuscript.Each authors have reviewed the contents and authorized the manuscript.Competing interests None.Provenance and peer overview Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.Data sharing statement You can find no unpublished information.The laptop applications used for the simulations are accessible, totally free of charge, from CK.Levy JA, Pescosolido BA.Social networks and overall health.London Elsevier, ..Smith K, Christakis N.Social networks and health.Annu Rev Sociol ;..Berkman L.Social support, social networks, social cohesion and well being.Social Perform Wellness Care ;..Borgatti SP, Mehra A, Brass DJ, et al.Network analysis inside the social sciences.Science ;..Epstein J, Longini I, Halloran M, et al.Containing a large bioterrorist smallpox attack a computer simulation.Int J Infect Dis a;..Epstein J, Bobashev G, Goedecke D, et al.Controlling pandemic influenza the part of international travel restrictions.Pub Library Sci 1 J b;e..Christakis N, Fowler J.The spread of obesity inside a significant social network over years.NEngl J Med ;..Hammond RA.Social influence and obesity.Curr Opin Endocrinol, Diabetes Obes ;..Burke M, Heiland F, Nadler C.From `overweight’ to `about right’ evidence of generational shift in physique weight norms.Obesity ;..Hammond RA.Complicated systems modeling for obesity study.Prev CC-115 web Chronic Dis ;.www.cdc.govpcdissuesjul _.htm.(accessed Dec) .Salvy SJ, Howard M, Study M, et al.The presence of friends increases food intake in youth.Am J Clin Nutr ;..Bahr DB, Browning RC, Wyatt HR, et al.Exploiting social networks to mitigate the obesity epidemic.Obesity ; ..Christakis N, Fowler J.The collective dynamics of smoking inside a substantial social network.N Engl J Med ;..Gold MR, Siegel JE, Russell LB, et al.Costeffectiveness in health and medicine.New York Oxford University Press, ..Drummond MF, et al.Approaches for the financial evaluation of wellness care programmes, rd edn.Oxford Oxford University Press, ..Chan PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21439311 PS, Nallamothu BK, Gurm HS, et al.Incremental benefit and costeffectiveness of highdose statin therapy in highrisk individuals with coronary.