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Do you know how fat you are? Apparently not


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We are getting fatter but we think we are thinner, and the trend could have serious implications for the obesity epidemic, a study has found.

Growing obesity in the population has increased what is perceived as "normal" weight, which is leading to large numbers of people underestimating how fat they really are. As a result, more people are failing to recognise they are overweight, despite an increase in the prevalence of obesity in the population.

However, thin women who are prone to feeling they are overweight have benefited from the change. The findings show they are less likely to perceive themselves as fat than in the past.

Professor Jane Wardle, of the Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London, said: "Recognising you are overweight is the first step to doing something about it. Those who do not see themselves as carrying excess pounds will not be motivated to act."

Are we all wearing thin-tinted glasses? What do you consider a normal size or weight?
LindseyIndigo

72 responses // Do you know how fat you are? Apparently not

  • But also lots of people who are normal sized think they are fat.
    thekingbeyond
    2 responses to this
  • just goes to show... cant really think of anything to put in here.... .

    i dont reallly care... i mean dont be like humongous but if ur fat.. who cares if u dont....
    kewal91
  • Ah yes America, home of vanity sizing?
    damnneargenius
    1 response to this
  • watch this comment being used here and here
    The size tag just reads "in denile".
    damnneargenius
    2 responses to this
  • My mother told me that size 4, 20 years ago for women has become a 0 today.

    Just go to a dress store when they measure you, they will tell you just how fat you are. Abercrombie is just dooping fat chicks today. Because when they slide into a 4 it makes them feel better than sliding into a 10
    clayjj05
  • PUT THE TWINKIE DOWN, and step away slowly.
    eldamon
    1 response to this
  • Abercrombie is a perfect study indeed clay - however ( and i might sound like an elitist ) , regardless of how significant one may think Ab.'s straight out lying is in the larger cultural scheme of things , "fat" people are seldom seen wearing Ab. shit - fat peeps are usually in american eagle , aeropostale or old navy ( all of which are cheap imitators of Ab. ) - and the fact that fatter peeps are more often seen in cheap imitations of Ab. shit is more significant than Ab. lying about sizing to customers whom are usually "thin" anyhow , regardless of what size Ab. fits them into.
    in short , fat peeps are more likely to have bad taste , and be poor - hence , reducing poverty would make fat peeps thinner , and have better taste .
    malathion
    5 responses to this
  • I really hope it's because people are realizing that the anorexic, or whisper thin models do not display anywhere near the ideal weight.

    And that we are moving towards a "happier, yet healthy" weight median, where our diets are not so restricted that it dictates our lives.

    We do not consider ourselves "fatter", we have just become more reasonably comfortable with our bodies and ourselves.
    BillionJawingNeurons
  • EWWWW Gross, "I believe in censorship in this case, aaahhh I'm blind, I'm blind"
    Lay off the pizza & cake & take walks & you will be healthy & normal looking & require less medical care, costing us less money. Saving health care for people who are really sick, not just fat.
    HeadNtheClouds
  • Thats what fat people say
    clayjj05
  • Here in the States, I feel so many people are bum-rushed by packaged food and poor eating habits to the extent that even when eating "healthy" we are taking in way too many calories. It's time to look at fresh produce rather than items like frozen meals...
    drewanium
  • In the 1940-1950's the U.S. based its standard size waist lines from European standards. But since then the U.S. has drastically drifted away from those standards. Take for example a size 12 in the 1950's. It would now be considered a size 6. A size 6 is now considered a size zero.
    unstephenk
  • Superficial much?

    If you're healthy be happy, if not go see your doctor and do something about it. If you can't go see a doctor do anything except read bull shit like this...
    torybart
  • it doesn't help that clothing sizes have changed over the years!
    jpettw
  • I understand this completely. I myself know I'm over weight according my BMI. However, when I try loosing weight to become healthier, they insist that I look anorexic or just unhealhy.

    I now see where people's views of normal weight stand.
    clintisdakoolest
    2 responses to this
  • If that's what a size 4 looks like, I don't want to be one.

    Different brands make the sizes different so that does not help. I can wear a range of 4 or 5 sizes depending on the brand.
    shroomfairy
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here, here and here
    always weigh yourself I guess, don't go by dress sizing go by the inches you are losing around your waist and etc. I stopped being in denial a long ass time ago when my sister said stop fooling yourself you have a big ass.
    tanyetta
  • the size 4 picture scares me more than the 16...
    SLindsayM1991
    1 response to this
  • Why do we have to put sizes on everything? Like the picture? "size 16" vs "size 4," I'm a size 10 yet my body fat is less than 10% (which is healthy) and there are people who are size 10 and have outrageously high body fat percentage. so if we would just stop giving "acceptable" sizes and start taking responsibility for what we eat and how we behave than life would be a lot easier
    THEREisHOPE
  • What are you guys talking about that chick looks good with a size 4. Personally i like collar bones ahhh
    clayjj05
  • it should really be about how fit you are, not the number on the scale. we obsess about weight when we should be obsessing about fitness.
    cali_is_gorgeous
  • ANOTHER FAT ISSUE IN AMERICA WHAT A SURPRISE

    I MEAN WE HAVE FAST FOOD PLACES ON EVERY CORNER NO WONDER AMERICA IS LOOKED AT AS THE MOST FATTEST COUNTRY

    HOW ABOUT HAVING A FRUIT STAND EVERY CORNER
    CroatianPimp
    3 responses to this
  • BMI isn't even an accurate measurement. If they are going to be so critical of people's judgement they should find a better measurement system.
    sapere_aude
  • Whats wrong with being a size 4 ?
    It's not bad if you eat healthy and get exercise
    on a daily maybe even weekly basic.

    I once heard that being over weight is contagious .
    I wonder if it's true?
    Babegirl
    4 responses to this
  • If obesity is looked at as an epidemic then I don’t want to even know how we are going to classify the unhealthy. That sort of thing comes in many forms, big and small.
    Ricky84
  • I was thinking how when I look around, i see people that are normal. But they aren't. They are grossly overweight, but it has become so common, you barely notice it anymore. Sick! Sick! Sick!
    samonster34
  • i dont think im fat, i think im winning the battle against anorexia
    tasidude
    2 responses to this
  • people think they are getting thinner because the world is bowing down to the obese and making things bigger rather than demanding they get off their lazy butts and try to get healthy.
    SilenceNoMore
  • Only in America can we be the fattest and the most anorexic nation in the world.
    junsumoney
  • I feel that many problems could be solved by better education systems, this one being a main concern. If children were raised with good food, they would find that food their chosen source of nutrition later in life. Most people are subjected to cheap unhealthy food from early on, which strengthens the desire for that fun size pack of cheetos.
    drewsuf721
  • This is ludicrous. Seriously? People really don't see their own muffin tops or cellulite?
    mrtodd724
    1 response to this
  • That woman looks smaller than a size four to me...
    granola_01
  • As far as fat or skinny unless it is a significant case either way, be happy with your body.If we were all supposed to look the same we would all look like Brad Pitt or Jessica Alba
    Metaknight42
  • I am an obesse 56 year old man, 5'8" tall 360 lbs., I've been obesse since childhood, doctors told me I'd be dead by 25 and when that didn't happen, they said I'd be dead by 35 and when that didn't happen, they said I'd dead by 45 and when that didn't happen, they said I'd be dead by 55 and when that didn't happen and so on and so on and so on. . .
    ericbooth
    2 responses to this
  • it america, it doesn't help that it costs more to eat healthier than it does to eat mcdonalds 24/7.
    bishopobispo
  • Well we all think about our body how we do, if we feel skinny, we'll think we are. The sizes from 30 years ago have changed as well. what was a size13 then is a 8 now. We also can't forget that the clothing industry wants their cash, so if you can fit into a size 10 when you're really a 12, you'll feel better about yourself and buy it just because you THINK you're now a 10. But they just make the sizes slimmer for more mulah. do you really think they had 000 sized jeans back in marilyns times?
    cantikanchi
  • we need to stop eating fast food and all that fake frozen food and we might as well start to ride our bikes to save on gas and get a work out
    furryjenn
  • paste the address for anything from the web
    In reality, fat activism exists http://www.naafa.org to prove to the world that not every "fat" person will die by the age of 25. Nor are they all diabetics, have heart disease, and eat at McDonald's every day. Believe it or not, they exercise and eat their fruits and veggies!! Unfortunately, these very productive, law-abiding, tax-payers are consistently shamed, ridiculed and discriminated against. Many have had enough and this "fat activism" movement is growing. Here is a great book that really changed my mind about people "of size." http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0898159954 Perhaps it will change others, too. Note: Size discrimination would make an excellent topic for a pod. How about it?
    wisegrrl