Apparently Americans are more concerned with what they see in the mirror than on their credit card bills.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans would rather maintain their current debt levels than gain 25 pounds and live debt free, according to a survey from Harris Interactive and Credit Karma released last month.
What’s more, 38 percent of Americans said they would choose clocking in at their “ideal weight” over avoiding bankruptcy, the survey found.
Altogether, 64 percent of Americans say they think about how they look more than they think about their debt, according to the Harris survey, with adults 18-34 more likely to care about their looks than their older counterparts.
The findings are based on a June survey of 2,021 Americans.
Depending on which way you look at it, the study either underscores the country's misplaced financial priorities or its obsession with body image. Today, more than a third of Americans are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But nearly 70 percent of U.S. households carried some kind of debt in 2011, according to the Census Bureau, and 75 percent of Americans don’t have enough savings to cover six months-worth of expenses, a June survey from Bankrate found.
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