Gallup: Desire to Lose Weight at Lowest Level in 25 Years

Monica Sanchez | November 30, 2015
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For the first time in over two decades, less than half of Americans (49 percent) say they want to lose weight, according to a recent Gallup poll.

The percentage reflects a sharp drop from readings near 60 percent from 2001 to 2008.

Gallup reports,

“The latest update of Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare poll, conducted Nov. 4-8, finds that for the first time in at least 25 years, less than half of Americans want to lose weight. Gallup polls from the 1950s found that only about a third of Americans wanted to lose weight.

“Along with the decrease in the percentage of Americans wanting to lose weight in recent years, there has been an accompanying increase in the proportion who say they would like to stay at their present weight -- currently 41%.

About one in 10 adults (9%) say they would like to put on weight."

Image via Gallup

Gallup’s overall findings may point toward a shift in society's attitudes toward body image and overall health and well-being.

For instance, more American women seem to be embracing a more fit, muscular body type over the skinny, slender figure long propagated by popular high-fashion magazines as the beauty standard.

In its report, Gallup notes a "slight but notable increase" in Americans who can be classified as obese. Nonetheless, a solid majority of people (56 percent) continue to view their weight as "about right," which may indicate that the data showing an increase in obesity is misleading.

Gallup used Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations to determine the percentage of Americans who can be classified as obese. BMI has been rendered by critics an unreliable tool to assess whether a person is "overweight," as it fails to effectively correct its calculations for individuals shorter or taller than the average adult height.  

A person that is either very short or very tall may look proportionate and feel comfortable with his or her weight and still be calculated as obese.

BMI also fails to take into account how muscle mass weighs more than body fat. For example, an Olympic lifter with a lot of muscle mass could be considered severely obese in his height class. 

That being said, a new standard for measurement may be needed to paint a more accurate picture of obesity in America today. 

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