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"In case you ever felt like you needed to justify how often you read about the lives of celebrities (or how you actually feel invested in what happens to them--Courteney Cox-Arquette, anyone?), this might be some good news for you...Recent research shows that reading about celebrities&amp;#x27; health issues might actually be good for us. The study asserts that reading about celebs&amp;#x27; health can inspire us to seek treatment or change an unhealthy behavior. The celebrity acts as a &amp;quot;surrogate interpersonal contact&amp;quot;--in other words, someone other than a family member or friend who can, in a way, give us advice. I agree that celebrities can be major influences--sometimes for good, sometimes for evil (well, not evil, necessarily, but there are definitely stars out there that aren&amp;#x27;t exactly doling out the world&amp;#x27;s best messages). If their health issues inspire people to make positive changes--like get screened for breast cancer, say, because they saw a favorite actress battle the disease--that&amp;#x27;s awesome. Still, I don&amp;#x27;t think I would skip talking to my friends or family about important health stuff. Would you? Has a celebrity&amp;#x27;s health concerns ever inspired you to change? Do you feel invested in celebs&amp;#x27; personal lives? More on celebrity health: * Breaking News: Oprah and Gayle Went Camping--Are You an Outdoorsy Kind of Girl? * Katherine Heigl Swears By Electronic Cigarettes to Help Her Quit--Could It Work for You? * The Trendy Healthy Living Mantra Celebs Are Tattooing on Their Bods (Including Drew Barrymore) More Ways to Get Glamour Visit Shopglamour.com for cute stuff starting at just $10! Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes! Follow us on Twitter Add us to your iGoogle homepage Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2010/10/reading-about-celebrities-heal>