Is Overweight The New Normal Weight?

A new report issued last week warned us that, if trends in the U.S. waistline continue as they are, 50 percent of our population would be obese by 2030. There are many reasons why overweight and obesity are such problems right now. Some research suggests that we’ve grown more comfortable being overweight and that being overweight has become “normal,” while being of an ideal weight may appear to be “underweight.”

While national surveys show that 67 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, a new survey of 1,000 Americans by Russell Research commissioned by Pollock Communications, showed that only 52 percent of Americans believe they are overweight. This lack of reality around body weight and diet is considered to be one of the many barriers in the nation’s growing obesity epidemic. We’ve become more “numb” to overweight and obesity because it’s everywhere; a person who is of normal weight actually appears to be the one who doesn’t fit in anymore.

Research published in scientific journals has found that obesity appears to be socially contagious. For example, Harvard Medical School researchers found that your chances of becoming obese are 57 percent greater if you have a close friend who is obese. Researchers at Arizona State University also found that women who had someone in their social circle who was overweight or obese were more likely to have pounds to lose too.

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If your friends are overweight it makes it easier to accept your weight, even if it’s more than what you’d really like to weigh. In addition, your eating and exercise habits may be impacted by what your friends want to eat and do socially.

It’s Easy Living Large

In our country where the majority of individuals need to lose weight, it’s become too easy to live large, making it harder to motivate people to take steps to shed pounds. Vanity-sized apparel; Lycra (read: stretchy) clothing; larger plates, bowls, glasses and utensils; wider seats in cars and movie theaters; and bigger portions are all examples of ways the environment has changed to make it more comfy being overweight.

If you think your friends and family may be making it harder for you to stick with your resolve to eat healthier, consider taking a few steps like using an online BMI calculator and weighing yourself weekly to keep tabs on the number on the scale. You can also use your online social network to connect with dietitians and personal trainers who you can “friend” and therefore get their daily updates to keep you grounded in the realities of what’s a healthy weight.

Comments

[Patricia Mason]

09:46 PM on 09/29/2011

this really needed to be said. there are so many people in the US crying out to "embrace your body" the way it is, to love yourself AND your fat, but why would we want to normalize being overweight? it's not natural and not healthy, and if you think it's part of your "genetics" compare the average weight 50 years ago to this decade. the number of obese people in america has skyrocketed and it's not something we should embrace, it is something we should fix. it's one thing to celebrate a person's individuality and quirks, and a totally different thing to celebrate something health-threatening that actually CAN be changed.

[alteredstory]

01:19 PM on 10/13/2011

I think the problem is one of degrees. The outcry about accepting your body stems, in large part, from an opposition to unobtainable ideals as represented in the fashion industry, with anorexic models and photoshopped images.

There ARE some who have then gone on to use that to justify self-neglect, but that IS a different thing.

[sunnybunny]

02:18 PM on 09/29/2011

I was watching a movie the other day and one of the stars was Jackie Gleason. We thought he looked thin at first but then we looked at some Honeymooners pictures and he looked about the same. We decided it was out standards for what is "fat" that have changed.

[babybelle]

01:09 PM on 09/28/2011

It must be the new normal.
I am not overweight and find shopping for clothes real time consuming.
Almost all seem to be made for the larger figure.
I wish I knew how to sew and design my own clothes or had the money to have someone do it for me.
.

[William Anderson LMHC]

08:45 AM on 09/28/2011

Overweight is already the new normal, that's why it's an epidemic. Obesity can be contagious, but so can good health. Join me and my patients, learn how to lose weight permanently, and you'll be doing the best thing possible to reverse the obesity epidemic. You can be part of the solution. Read my blog about finding permanent weight loss with Behavioral Medicine: http://theandersonmethod.com/what-is-behavioral-medicine-and-behavioral-healthcare/

I lost 140 lbs. after 25 years of failure with diets and exercise schemes and I've maintained this success for 25 years, now teaching others. Successful weight loss is not a mystery, just hard to find when you don't know where to look.

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com

[Djay0252]

02:58 PM on 09/23/2011

I must be living in the wrong part of the country. I would have guessed 60% of the population is already overweight.

[phot9397]

11:59 AM on 09/18/2011

In addition to exercise it. Abdominal massage using finger. Middle finger and ring finger placed on the abdomen, squeezing them together for 10 seconds to reduce a portion of the abdomen.
www.thaimassageonline.com

[derekhenry]

09:02 PM on 09/17/2011

Until we get the added sugar out of the food supply, there will be no progress in fighting the symptoms of poor diet, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some cancers, and of course obesity.

[Steven Barnes]

09:22 AM on 09/17/2011

Try intermittent Fasting. Eating every other day has a huge list of positive health values...and is the easiest diet imaginable.

www.diamondhour.com

[babybelle]

01:13 PM on 09/28/2011

I agree with you Steven. IF is the way to go, unless one has a blood sugar problem.
You can design your own IF program too.
I don't do every other day, I simply eat 3 meals a day with no snacking. My longest fast is from an early dinner til breakfast the next morning.
IF and excersise keeps me in shape.

[John Di Saia]

09:37 PM on 09/15/2011

That depends upon how you define normal.

Are there more heavy people? Yes.
Is is a recommended condition? No.

[R Davis]

11:16 AM on 09/15/2011

It is embarrassing when you go to places like France or Italy where most people are a lot slimmer and you see Americans 50 lbs. or more overweight. In those countries they eat all day but they eat smaller portions, they eat slower and they don't worry about carbs. They walk more than we do. It would take fundamental changes in what we eat but it is doable.

[sunnybunny]

03:03 PM on 09/13/2011

I'm having a real problem with my weight right now and have been for some time. It does not help for people to say that I'm not fat. While I appreciate that they don't think I'm gross to look at or whatever they think of as "fat", According to a BMI chart I am obese and I am about 40-60 lbs heavier than I used to be and it is effecting my health and mobility. (I weigh 163 and am 5'1" tall). I do not want to be pressured when I turn down a piece of cake or decline to take the night off from the gym. I am not comfortable in my skin and that is not OK. But it's hard enough for me to force myself to work out or to turn down cake - I need support. It doesn't help though to be mean - just support what I am doing don't push me or insult me. That only leads to me sabotaging myself by getting depressed and then I seek comfort in food and/or become more lazy. That just me, but I think a lot of other people have similar issues.

[Atchka]

03:52 PM on 09/13/2011

sunnybunny,
This is going to be a long response, so bear with me.

According to the BMI charts, you have a BMI of 30, putting you just over the cusp of obesity. Healthwise, unless you have high blood pressure, blood sugar or blood lipids, you need not worry at this moment. Only if these metabolic indicators begin to rise should you be concerned for your health.

In the meantime, if you want to improve your health, then focus on what you can change. If you can improve your diet, then add some fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains and lean meats. If you can improve your exercise, try to get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week (e.g., a walk in the park). You can break up that exercise into 10 minute chunks and it will still be effective for improve your cardiorespiratory health.

These two improvements alone will have a powerfully positive impact on your health and mobility. You also need to establish a healthy relationship with food. Don't beat yourself up over that slice of cake. If you are eating a balanced, diverse diet, then cake should be a part of that equation.

(continued)

[Atchka]

03:54 PM on 09/13/2011

The most important part of what you've shared (IMO) is that you are uncomfortable in your own skin. This is the most important part of achieving health and happiness. You don't need to love the skin your in, but you do need to appreciate what your body is still capable of, even if it doesn't look the way you want it to. Per your comment, you go to the gym. You are already using your body and are aware of its capabilities. Be grateful for your body's ability to move you around, to support your needs and to house your mind.

The only way a person can be "sabotaged" is if the gap between what you want and what you need becomes so great that the relatively minor act of indulging in comfort foods becomes an act of betrayal against your body. It isn't. The betrayal is when you don't listen to your body, when you push it harder than it needs to be pushed, when you restrict yourself more than you really need to. If you are fighting against your own body's natural desires, then of course you will see it as "sabotage." What you want (a thin body) is butting up against what you need (a healthy body) and you have decided that your wants are the "good guys" while your needs are the "bad guys." Needing comfort food when you're depressed is natural and healthy.

(continued)

[Pierre99]

12:53 PM on 09/12/2011

Here comes the nanny state! They'll have you eating lima beans in no time.

[HerrMonk]

01:16 PM on 09/12/2011

Exactly.

The nanny state will come along to save us from ourselves, only to make us fatter...

...it's what the FDA has been doing since it's conception.

[sychodelix]

01:18 PM on 09/12/2011

There are many brainwashed people that are trying to look like movie stars and ARE by definition anorexic and IMHO it is much more disturbing and harmful than being somewhat obese.

[HerrMonk]

01:20 PM on 09/12/2011

That's pretty strange.

[annadams]

11:02 AM on 09/12/2011

If there were natural disasters worldwide (fires, draughts, floods, etc.) that caused a world food crises, it would be the obese people who would wind up still being alive because they could live off their fat. The skinny people would perish.

[mkthinker]

08:42 AM on 09/26/2011

But untill then they are at a higher risk of a host of other diseases. It's a trade off that probably isn't worth it. I don't want to be the post-apocalyptic survivor really though.

[sueb03]

02:07 PM on 09/12/2011

as long as you are healthy and happy - more power to you. Fat is a superficial word and can mean anything over anorexic to morbidly obese. l. You can be fit and. "overweight". "Fat" people complete marathons. Health is about lifestyle not a scale. No one says obesity is good, and not everyone has to be rail thin to be healthy.