Recent studies found that many people who are in fact obese did not consider themselves fat…
Among about 2,000 Dallas county residents a substantial amount did not think that they needed to lose weight.
It turns out that those who had inaccurate ideas of their body image were happier with their health, and felt healthier, than those who did recognize their obesity!
This is a hard concept to discuss, because it shows that many people have a lack of understanding the effects that obesity has on health, however you don’t want people to have an unnecessary negative body image.
We do want people to understand that they do in fact need to lose weight if they are very overweight, because your health can severely suffer.
There are major differences in how people with body size misperception see their own health risks. For example, half thought they were healthier than most people their age, compared to a third of people who perceived their weight accurately.
A thought it that heavy people’s self-perceptions are changing because overweight and obesity are becoming so much more common.
This can be dangerous, because not thinking you are unhealthy results in not seeing a doctor, not changing bad eating habits and not making a conscious effort to be more healthy.
This is not good!
Make sure to eat well, exercise and read fitperez for more healthy lifestyle tips!
[Image via AP Images.]
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