According to a new survey only six per cent of overweight people believe they should be described as obese. Three quarters of those with an obese body mass index underestimated their weight category, according to the Yougov poll of 2,065 people.
Dr Jacquie Lavin, the head of nutrition and research at Slimming World, which conducted the survey, said, “This worrying new data reveals the complex psychological issues associated with being overweight…Many people, including many health professionals, believe that managing weight is just about energy balance, and that people simply need to 'eat less and exercise more’. However, that approach can never work while so many people deny how severely their weight could be affecting their health, or while they struggle with the emotional burden of being overweight, which can affect their confidence in their ability to make healthy lifestyle changes.”
Slimming World’s annual survey revealed that three quarters of those with severe weight problem see ‘obesity’ as something that happens to other people. More than one in three people who are very overweight feel that weight is ‘the most important issue in life’ and up to half feel ‘embarrassed’, ‘ashamed’, ‘disgusted’ and ‘trapped’ by it. The survey found that 70 per cent of people in the UK want to lose weight, rising to 95 per cent for people with a Body Mass Index in the obese category.
The new figures support a similar survey which last week showed that four in 10 obese people think they are actually healthy, prompting experts to call for better education about weight problems. According to the Bupa Health Pulse poll, four in 10 people who were actually obese thought they were a “healthy” weight, suggesting Britons are “blissfully unaware” of the dangers of eating too much and not taking enough exercise.
Britain’s obesity epidemic is reaching crisis point as the NHS struggles to cope with increasing numbers of patients with conditions caused or exacerbated by being overweight. According to the latest government figures, more than 60 per cent of adults in England and a third of 10 and 11 year-olds are overweight. The Lancet medical journal has predicted that by 2030 more than 11 million people would be classed as obese, with a BMI above 30. A healthy score is from 18.5 to 25.
Obesity and chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes cost Britain £20 billion a year in lost productivity, it was claimed last month, while studies show that people fail to recognize obesity in their own family members, especially when they live in areas where being overweight is common.
NHS research indicates that one in three children leaves primary school either overweight or obese, despite most starting school at a healthy weight. Tam Fry, a spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, said that schoolchildren, adults and even NHS workers all need better education about what represents an unhealthy weight. Mr. Fry said it was important for pupils to be taught about the dangers of obesity, not just for their own sake but also to avoid them later having children who go on to be overweight.
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