Obese Americans Prone to Cancer
It seems being in denial is one big reason why two in three Americans is either overweight or obese.
The question remains "Why?"
A new Gallup just found out the reason "Why." The poll discovered the majority of Americans aren't trying to lose weight because they don't think they're overweight at all!
Talk about the power of self-denial.
The poll revealed that 60 percent of American men and 50 percent of American women surveyed said they are neither overweight nor trying to lose weight. Among those who did admit to being overweight, "equal percentages say they are overweight and trying to lose weight (18 percent) or are overweight and not trying to lose weight (18 percent)."
Put in another way, this means only half of those who said they're overweight are trying to shed their excess baggage. Overall less than one in five Americans said they're overweight and are actively trying to lose that weight.
The poll results are even more surprising when examining younger Americans.
Only one in five Americans from18 to 34 years old are trying to lose weight. The remaining 80 percent are not.
Fewer than one in four young adults reported being overweight, and half of these are trying to lose that extra weight.
Among girls and women, fewer than one in three are trying to lose weight. Only one in five reported being overweight.
The Gallup poll results are startling since healthcare professionals have long known that 67 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese. It shows that only 36 percent of overweight or obese Americans report being overweight.
The poll clearly shows that about a third of Americans are overweight and don't know it.
Experts said the idea that a person could be overweight or obese and not know it seems absurd. This phenomenon, however, is not new to healthcare professionals that routinely treat patients who don't recognize how overweight they are, or who said their extra weight is just "a few extra pounds."
This delusion is borne out by a 2010 study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology that said nearly 40 percent of overweight American women and 10.5 percent of obese women believed themselves to be underweight or of normal weight.
Healthcare professionals continue to say the idea that America is a nation of people constantly striving to be thinner and healthier is a complete myth.
Most Americans don't eat healthy diets, don't get enough exercise and think they are healthy just the way they are.
