It’s Not My (Weight) Problem

This is the week of New Year’s resolutions. Hoards of people who want to lose weight will join a fitness center, determined to achieve their weight-loss goals. The problem is, these people are only a fraction of those who really need to make that New Year’s resolution. Because most people who need to lose weight refuse to believe they are overweight; they are in denial. The tragedy about this is it’s not just adults who are in denial about their own weight; these adults are also in denial about their children’s weight — a problem that is destined to cause a ripple effect among generations to come, exacerbating the U.S. obesity epidemic.

What can fitness professionals do about this? Well, one can only help those who are willing to help themselves, right? But, perhaps more individuals would be willing if we had more segments of society making sure that these people own up to the fact that they are, indeed, overweight.

According to a recent study by the National Consumers League (NCL) reported on by Medical News Today, there is a “startling disconnect between the way people perceive their weight, and their actual weight category based on the body mass index.” The NCL study of 1,978 U.S. adults reports that “52 percent of respondents referred to themselves as overweight, and only 12 percent as obese, severely obese or morbidly obese. But, based on actual BMI calculations using self-reported height and weight information among the 96 percent of respondents, … 35 percent are actually overweight, whereas 34 percent are actually obese, severely obese or morbidly obese. Among respondents who are obese according to BMI, 82 percent consider themselves to be simply overweight.”

Another survey reported on by MSNBC on December 24, found that many people in the U.S. whose children are obese do not see them that way. The survey of 2,060 adults, which collected children’s height and weight from their parents and then used that to calculate BMI, found that, among parents with an obese, or extremely overweight, child ages six to 11, 43 percent said their child was “about the right weight,” 37 percent responded “slightly overweight” and 13 percent said “very overweight.” Yet, based on what the parents reported, 15 percent of the children ages six to 11, and 10 percent of the children ages 12 to 17, were obese.

Unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control, while there are an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults who are overweight (33 percent) or obese (33 percent), the Medical News Today article reports that the NCL study showed that only 12 percent of U.S. adults say they have ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional that they are obese. In addition, it points out that individuals’ denial about their weight may also be a result of the social stigma associated with being obese: “Most U.S. adults (61 percent) report … that obesity is considered taboo in society today, and half attribute the condition to a ‘lack of will power.’” Parents’ lack of forthrightness about their kids’ weight can also be attributed to this problem. “Because of the social stigma, it’s not something that parents are willing to admit to readily,” says Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

While the social stigma associated with obesity is clearly an issue, this cannot be made an excuse to ignore the problem. It’s one thing to hurt ourselves, but to hurt our children, too?

As an industry, we can be a part of helping these individuals. By understanding the denial about weight, perhaps fitness professionals can implement some awareness programs alongside the New Year’s resolutions programs planned this year. Even a marketing campaign discussing this trend of denial and how fitness facilities can help — no stigma attached — might help bring some of those who really need to make a New Year’s resolution into your facility this year.