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Most Americans report that they've lost weight in the previous year, when they actually gained, new research finds.
When it comes to their waistlines, many Americans -- especially men -- are in optimistic denial, a new study shows.
Researchers from the University of Washington found that people often think they are losing weight when they really aren’t, according to research published in the August issue of the journal Preventive Medicine.
“People’s weights are going up from year to year,” said lead author Catherine Wetmore, who was a researcher with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle when the new study was written.
“But when they’re asked to think back to a year ago, they recall being heavier than they were,” added Wetmore, who’s now a bio-statistician at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The new study was based on surveys of Americans in 2008 and 2009 as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, or BRFSS. It's the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's yearly survey of adults in the U.S., designed to track health and lifestyle indicators. For 2008, the study included data from 385,416 participants; in 2009, there were 394,700 volunteers.
For the surveys, volunteers were questioned about their socio-economic status and various health behaviors, including lifetime smoking status, daily fruit and vegetable consumption, and weekly physical activity.
They were also asked about their current weight and the prior year's weight:
“About how much do you weigh without shoes?”
“How much did you weigh a year ago?”
The intriguing part of the new study was the reality check of comparing people’s beliefs about their weight loss to what actually happened in the country as a whole from 2008 to 2009.
As it turns out, many people thought they had slimmed down because they reported their weight as being lower now than it was a year ago.
But when researchers compared the average weight of people in the 2008 survey to the average weight of people answering in the 2009 survey, there was a big disconnect: Over that year, the prevalence of obesity actually increased by half a percentage point. The fact is, on average, Americans had gained a pound.
For that to have happened, people couldn’t have been losing weight from one year to the next, Wetmore concludes.
The people’s recollection of their weights in 2008 sounds fishy.
“They do a lot of rounding up, something we call ‘heaping,’” Wetmore said. “So they report their weight change in increments of 5, 10, 15, or 20 pounds. If they say they’re now 163 pounds and they’re remembering being heavier in the past, they might add 10 to that and say they were 173 pounds a year ago.”
Men appear to be twice as likely as women to inflate the previous year’s weight. Wetmore isn’t sure why that would happen.
“There could be a lot of reasons driving it,” she said. “I know it’s a stereotype, but I think women are more attuned to their appearance. And maybe it’s society’s pressure for women to be thin. Whatever the reason, you do see women doing a better job of keeping track of changes in their weight over time.”
If the weights reported had been true, the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. would have declined from 2008 to 2009. But the scary finding in the study is that the obesity rate among the Americans studied actually jumped half a percentage point, climbing from 26 percent to 26.5 percent.
If researchers had relied on the reports of the volunteers in this study, they would have undercounted approximately 4.4 million obese adults in the U.S., Wetmore noted.
Breaking through America’s weight denial is not an easy task, but it’s a necessary one. What's scary, Wetmore said, is that many people believe they're losing weight when the nation as a whole is getting fatter -- rapidly.
“The message we’re trying to drive home is that if Americans don’t accept the reality of their weight changes over time, they’re not going to be motivated to lose weight,” Wetmore said. “It’s important to be attuned to even small changes in body weight because over time they can really add up.”
Her message to doctors: Don’t let your patients skip the annual weigh-in.
Do you weigh more or less than a year ago? Tell us about it on Facebook.
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Over half the Population in America is overwieght, and they don't care how they look anymore, Ugly Americans don't even have any kind of Pride in themselves. Just don't care. Pathetic.
I've been going to China regularly for 15 years. I also visit Thailand quite often. The waistlines in both of those countries are increasing at an alarming rate. 10 years ago, it was rare to see even a slightly overweight person in China. Now it is quite common.
It isn't just Americans...
Like so many other nations, China is adopting parts of our culture. MacDonald's, and other American fat food restaurants have arrives in their neighborhoods as well.
Taxpayers should not be forced to pay the healthcare costs of fat people...99% of them eat too much and dont move enough...enough of this welfare I say
I remember my mother's doctor telling her, "You don't need willpower to lose weight; you need 'won't power.' 'I WON'T have seconds of everything; I WON't have the piece of cake with the most frosting.'"
I can say I was in denial. I thought if I exercised 4-5 times a day I could eat whatever I wanted (I rarely ever eat fast food/junky food, etc.) but my calorie intake was more than it needed to be. I was heavier then I wanted to be and decided well if this isn't working then I need to change. I lowered my calorie consumption and started supplementing. I got a hold of GNC's TOTAL LEAN shake and mix that with skim milk for breakfast. It tastes really good and I lost 8lbs from the time I started around a month ago. I can see that dieting makes a huge difference when done as a life choice (I don't plan on stopping anytime soon). I have more energy because I'm getting the nutrition I need that I just wasn't getting from food and dropping the pounds. I'm blogging about my weightloss journey at gnctotallean.blogspot.com. Feel free to use me as your guinnie pig. I don't work for GNC or the producers of the shake, just a fan :)
I was told years ago (at least 20) by a DR. friend that the best thing you can do for yourself is keep a healthy weight. Think about it. No diabetes, no knee or hip replacements.
There are other diseasses and conditions that can be prevented too by keeping a healthy BMI.. That doesn't mean it is easy.
Did you know Americans make up 4% of the world's population, but carry a little shy of a THIRD of the world's body weight?
I call shenanigans on that one geepo...
Actually, it is. 300 million / 7 billion = 0.043, or 4.3%.
LiberalWhyIsYouSoSDumb
Youre a perfect example of an idiot conservative that makes his party look bad. Pretentious for no reason and insulting to boot. Americans are 4-5% of the world's pop.
Common knowledge
And it's 1/3 of the world's excess weight, not total weight. Still an alarming statistic but certainly not the armageddon you made it sound like.
One thing the article doesn't take into account though is if people had gained muscle over that same year. Let's say you're 160 pounds and then you start working out with weights and get up to 175 the next year. Yes, you've gained weight but you've gained it in muscle. The article didn't address that.
So here I am, very unhappy, because my scale ,when I stepped on it (same scale) last year, read 202 lbs. When I stepped on it this morning, it read 191 lbs. Now the University of Washington tells me I am lying to myself. I weigh myself at least every other day and I saw the number decline over the last year, now I find out it was a mirage. Since I didn't lose any weight over the past year, I am going out and get a chocolate cake and eat the whole thing in one sitting, and I am going to do this until I am no longer lying to myself.
I learned what foods should be eaten together and what foods should not. I have lost 25 lbs. in less than 3 months and am never hungry, and don't feel deprived. If you put the wrong foods together they fight each other in the digestive process and it all just sits there. That's what causes gas and bloating and poor digestion and weight gain. It's not how much you eat it's what you eat together.
Google; Sherry Brescia.
LOL indeed.
Where do you come up with this trash? If you lost 25 lbs of fat in 3 months, I would not want to take any advice from you.
The statistic of 26.5 % overweight fails to mention that the total including overweight and obese is actually 70% of Americans according to the CDC That is a horrible legacy. I think anti-smoking measures are one reason people have switched to junk food instead, but also the only place to eat reasonably healthy while you're out is Subway, and even that is still more expensive than McDs and Wendy's type places. Also, need to get more exercise and stop watching Cupcake Wars and eating like those judges. the junk Food Network could also be more helpful.
There are healthier options available at most fast food places, as an occasional meal. When I do go to McDonald's (which isn't often), I get one of their salads with no dressing, and a fruit and yogurt parfait, with a glass of water. Total calories for the meal: 390. Cost is less than $7, including tax.
What most people don't realize is that you can still eat all those "good" foods and lose weight. Weight loss and weight gain are simply a matter of calories consumed vs calories burned. Use some online calculators to find your daily allotted calories, and add up what you eat each day. You can still order pizza, but use the restaurant's website to see how many calories are in each slice. If your daily limit is 2,000 calories, just make sure to eat less than that consistantly. A pound of fat is 3,500 calories, so a deficit of 500 calories means you'll lose a pound a week without exercise.
Calories consumed < calories burned = weight loss
Calories consumed = calories burned = stay the same( maintenance)
Calories consumed > calories burned = weight gain
It really is that simple folks. Bodybuilders, athletes, actors etc have known this for years.
Agree 100 percent!
MMMMMm BeACON.
Yea its simple, everybody tries to complicate it.
You can eat ice cream and scrapple everyday and lose weight.
Those dudes riding bikes 10,000 miles a year can eat cans of lard
each day before they go to bed and wont gain a pound.
You re fat because you eat the wrong food and enough of it for several people and don t exercise..
Statistics show you re better off smoking then eating yourself to death.
I won t consider going out with a fat women.
NO FAT CHICKS.
News Flash..Throw out all the food in the stores that are not natural and contains additives & preservatives, You'd have to close all the restaurants, Dump the cars,And the booze, close all the processed meat companies, and the gyms, ...Because you would have to walk or ride a bike to where ever you want to go..The store would only be a fraction of the size they are now..You won't need low calorie food .Dump computers since you have to sit behind then all day..Only an hour or two of TV broadcasting a night ,plus no control so you'd have to go and change the channel,only use wall mounted phones so you would have to get up to answer it..Cook and do your own dishes......I laugh because none of you would be willing...I even laugh more when I see All these heath experts talking about it and they themselves are fat..Just cracks me up....Just like all you dummies that by bottle water..To lazy to just drink it out of the tap.. or just go outside and walk around or jog...No common scene here at all....
Amerikans are in denial about more than just weight gain...
I suggest you review each and every video listed here with an open mind, and not as a democrat or a republican, but as a taxpayer and citizen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhdppHwUJ9k Pilots For 9/11 Truth Presents "9/11 INTERCEPTED" - (Full Film) MUST WATCH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3dW_gUwOg WTC 7 "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" - short film by Architects & Engineers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgN080yySe0 WTC NORTH TOWER EXPLODING, David Chandler, AE911truth.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jazdG3-ZETM&feature=share 2012 - NEWEST 9/11 DOCUMENTARY - PROOF 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB.mp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6pEZf8P_RE [Must Watch] The Painful Truth and lies behind 9/11 - A documentary you dont want to miss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVKGRB3cygg Why The Military Knows Israel Did 9/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da0oEBAqtmY 9-11 CONSPIRACY: The False Flag Attack, Part 1 of 4
They lied to US about 9/11 & Iraq/Afghanistan, and they're lying to US about Iran for the same obvious reasons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA6480sap18 9/11 Fake Actor In A Clean Firefighter Costume Says He Was Digging All Day, Too Hot For Rescue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFIlX0HjkmI House of Rothschild vs U.S. Presidents
Now for some other important subject matter; The food WE feed OUR families...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vNnCfHH78I&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL1187A2EFFF2284ADPayday Monsanto - Sheeple Of Amerika
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RxU7YustxM U.S. against Europe Over Monsanto GM Crops (Democracy NOW! report)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knS653txDfs Over 50 Countries Label G.M.O.s. Why Not America?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_06F_1rNNw Monsanto's Ties to Big Government 1/2
The air WE breathe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEeXlOlHykc Chemtrails Documentary 1/7 - What in the world are they spraying - 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsiJpuARHcE Alien Fibers: Morgellons Disease - ABC's Nightline
OUR weather...and natural disasters...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkLTzesBxGE HAARP CBC Broadcast Weather control part 1
You may review more information regarding the Big Picture's many pieces of the jig-saw puzzle here:
These two groups are among the many very credible groups on facebook...follow them for important information regarding OUR counrtry's welfare...
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/OccupyMARINES/246310432083819
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Law-Enforcement-is-the-99/157209357709304
I'm as mad as hell at the treasonous traitors who pretend to be OUR "leaders," as well as the corporate-owned media who are supposed to be reporting on Truth instead of nonsense!
WE've not much time left...people need to start waking up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjPh_4eHyOo 2012 The Online Movie (FULL DOCUMENTARY)
America's LEC is, not unlike its military, being used & abused by OUR elitist politicians for their evil needs...I suggest you DO THE RIGHT THING..!
What amuses me to no end are the morbidly obese guys with the Big Dog shirts. Hey buddy, you aren't big, you are a lard a$$
The funny thing is all people have to do is do some kind of physical activity a couple of times a week, It doesn't have to be a strenuous workout. Walk or go swimming. And cut back on the fast food, get regular check ups at the doctor and dentist, you will see your health improve... No need for a crash diet or crazy work outs ... Eat right and you'll be fine
Look at the participants in the Olympics. No fatsos! They eat right and exercise. People are fat because they eat the wrong kinds of food and too much of it. It's really that simple. All the excuses heard are bunk by people in denial. Look at what people eat and how much of it when in a restaurant or check out the content of the grocery carts. Take pride in your appearance and take care of your body. Life is a gift.
Wow speaking generalities make you look like just another moron. Some people have medical issues that prevent proper excerise, while other have metabolic problems. Lumping everyone into one category is stupid. Judging the comments that are posted being in "shape" has killed brain cells that you can ill afford.
Americans will soon be on the Somali diet
Part of the problem is that there is a protocol for just about everything now a days and sometimes this can be a problem, while losing weight is not mandatory under any protocol like other things are in life, then some of us really do not focus on weight, for example: If I fail to pay my cell phone bill then I know there will be a consequence, because the cell company will turn the service off, If I eat too much then I will not see the consequences soon enough at that moment, weight gain will take time to reveal..a protocol of not going over you weight limit should be followed and a constant reminder of it
Maybe if food that is "good" for you just didn't taste like junk. So guys don't waste your time condemning me I eat the "good" because I have to but I don't have to like it.
Try adding some herbs and spices to it to make it taste better. I use lemon pepper, parsley, sage and pepper on chicken so it doesn't taste bland. A little bit of lemon juice can perk up vegetables, too, and/or add some garlic.
How about just eating in moderation and not eating like pigs. Everyone wants instant gratification with a weight loss pill here, lyposuction here and there. Just hit the gym and make it a good daily habit, you will add more years to your life.
Americans in denial about Obama, studies show!
I wonder If Micheal Moore is in denial also. That guy looks bigger everytime I see him.
Americans have become too lazy and very undisciplined over the years, people it's not that complicated. You eat more than your body burns and to top it all up you're not exercising. Everyone has become a couch potato watching their un-reality TV, I'm going to be 50 soon and I'm in better shape than younger people. The new generation will die off quicker from diabetis, heart attacks, cardiovascular disease etc. People are definetelly in a big denial and headed for big health trouble. Wake up already!
Fatties gonna fat
EAT Less......Eat Better.......Excercise!!
There is no one to blame but ourselves. We know the problems, we have the answers.....
EAT Less.....Eat Better......Excercise more!!!!