Americans are in denial. At least that is what a recent Harris Interactive/HealthDay survey found. The numbers don’t lie but apparently people lie to themselves.
Thirty percent of those in the “overweight” class believed they were actually normal size. Even worse, 70 percent considered to be obese just thought they were overweight.
So are people just not recognizing the problem or is obesity becoming the new norm? As reported in Obesity Rate Increases, 34% of adults aged 20 and older are obese.
More organizations are trying to push a healthy lifestyle on us it, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
According to the survey, people are not associating their food choice with their weight. Rather they think their lack of exercise is to blame.
But that doesn’t mean they want to do more to lose the weight. The respondents felt weight loss surgery was the most effective method, followed by prescription drugs, then OTC drugs and diet-food supplements.
It’s amazing considering studies of diet pills like Meridia continue to demonstrate increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.
Maybe it’s because for some it’s a battle against genes, but I have news for them. PLoS Medicine published a study showing that they can burn off 40% of their genetic predisposition to obesity by exercising.
With the number of obese adults expected to hit 700 million by 2015, it’s time to wake up and read the numbers on the scale.