Some interesting stats on Americans’ weight and attitudes were published by Gallup yesterday. As everyone know, over the last 20 years our collective waistline has grown and we have gained an average of 15 pounds of weight per person. But what has also gone up, is our perception of what an ideal weight would be. See the chart above. The difference, around 13 lbs, seems to stay constant over the years.
According to Gallup, which polled people a few weeks ago, about 65% report that they are above their ideal weight. This is about the same percentages of Americans that are considered overweight or obese.
Here is where things get funny (actually sad): 60% of respondents said they are fine with their current weight!
That’s right, and only 34% think they are overweight. But despite that, 54% “would like to” lose some weight. Another 25% are “seriously” trying to lose weight.
What are two things we can learn from this survey?
1. We humans are fickle types, with reality distortion fields that help us shape reality to match our needs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, we would go insane if we couldn’t bridge these gaps.
2. As we all know, it is much easier to gain a pound of weight than to lose it. Thus, it is better to get on a proper diet early on, before massive weight gain or disease occurs. Unfortunately, the results of this survey affirm that for most people, a gradual weight gain is not perceived as a threat to health, thus does not trigger action (“would like to lose weight”).
Are you trying to lose weight? What is your trigger?
