Are you honest about your weight? Although I would prefer not to be asked, when I am asked, it never occurs to me to lie about it.
It used to be that women were thought to always lie about their age and weight, but a new CDC study finds that Americans are becoming more honest (at least about) their weight. To be honest, I didn’t even know that there were studies measuring the number of people who lie about their weight. It seems a little odd, but who am I to judge?
The new report also found that in nine states at least 30 percent of the adults were obese in 2009. The states were Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Mississippi, the highest at 34 percent. In 2007, only Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee topped 30 percent.
No states met a national goal for 2010 of limiting obesity to 15 percent. Only Colorado and the District of Columbia were lower than 20 percent, and just barely.
It did get me thinking a bit about why? Why are Americans becoming more honest about their weight, especially considering that obesity is on the rise?
Could it be that we are finally getting to the point of loving and accepting ourselves, even with our perceived imperfections? That wouldn’t be so bad, maybe those (you know, the ones using average and plus size models) are having an impact on how we see ourselves. What ever the reason, if women are feeling better about themselves, I think that’s wonderful. Anyway, that’s my idealistic way of looking at this story, and I think it could be true.
However, it seems the researchers have their own opinion (go figure), and it does make sense. They believe that because of all the press coverage over the ever growing obesity epidemic (and the health problems associated with it), that Americans are becoming more aware of their weight and therefore more honest. The benefit to this observation would be that Americans are becoming concerned about the health risks of being overweight (rather than the stigma), and are keeping a closer eye on it. In the long run (idealistically), this change in behavior may actually prove to be the catalyst to American’s changing their eating habits from unhealthy to healthy, and that would be a good thing. Wouldn’t it be great to go from a society facing an obesity epidemic, to a society facing a healthy living epidemic?
*cross-posted to