Many Americans Don’t Know They’re Fat

It’s true that American society doesn’t exactly support a healthy lifestyle. Most of the population is reliant on cars, many cities don’t have safe areas/trails for exercise, restaurants serve alarmingly big portions, and there are fast food restaurants everywhere. But when you really get down to the nitty gritty, weight is a matter of personal responsibility. And being honest about your weight is step one. That’s why it’s pretty disheartening to hear that many Americans don’t even know they’re fat.

Despite what BMI might be, what scales say, or what size jeans they fit into many people tend to self-report the wrong weight category. A Harris Interactive/HealthDay survey found that 30 percent of overweight people thought they were of normal weight, 70 percent of those who are obese thought they were just overweight, and 99 percent of people who are morbidly obese classified themselves as either obese or overweight.

Being honest about your body and lifestyle habits is important. There’s a stigma and a perceived shame about overweight and obesity in our society, but I personally think that’s a bunch of bunk. Our bodies are our bodies … plain and simple. Even overweight or obese bodies do amazing things for us every day and there’s no need to try to ignore, downplay or be unaware of the true weight category we fit into. And when you’re honest about your weight, you can be honest about the changes you need to make to create a healthier lifestyle.

You can calculate your BMI and find out what weight category you fit into with this BMI calculator from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.