Are you caught in "the fat gap?" Do you even know what it is?
The term came about after a British study conducted recently found that obese people are having a more and more difficult time telling that they are indeed well overweight. The primary finding focused on the alter perceptions people have when they are surrounded by those who look like them. In other words, if you are around other obese people, your tendency to consider yourself obese is far lower than if you spent time around a bunch of triathletes and super models. Kind of a ‘duh’ finding, but the implications are much more serious if you stop and look around your world a little.
According to this McClatchy article (reprinted in the Seattle Times), less than 10% questioned in the survey considered the extra pounds they were carrying to put them in the obese category. Yet, when measured, 25% of them where in fact clinically obese. Is this simply a matter of denial on the part of the respondents, or are environmental factors a major culprit as this study suggests?
Why is this critical information to Americans? Because we are terribly overweight. If you live in Mississippi, 1 of every 3 adults you lay eyes on is considered clinically obese. When does being overweight start to look normal? Even in Colorado, with ‘only’ a 20% obesity rate in adults, you are still going to be around clinically obese folks every day. Chances are you have friends or family that fall into this category even if you yourself are not obese.
Another critical piece to this story is that obesity rates are not spread evenly throughout a state like Colorado. Boulder is going to have a much lower obesity rate than somewhere like Grand Junction. Folks in Grand Junction will see a much greater percentage of overweight and obese folks than a health conscious, outdoor loving college town. So, you will have pockets of much greater obesity within certain cultural and economic communities. You might see rates of 40% or greater. Where is your motivation to lose weight if a large chunk of your friends, family and co-workers are in the same boat?
We hope that the tide can change here and people will find the help and motivation they need to overcome the fat gap. There are certainly a lot of companies out there right now trying. As you know, we like Medifast as a solution, but it may not be the right choice for you. Get your body fat checked by your doctor or local health club. We are not huge fans of the BMI calcultors due to all of the outlying factors that can skew results. Regardless, your doctor will be able to help you determine if you are obese or not.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also has some great resources availble on their Overweight and Obesity section of their site.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi,very informative article. I found you blog from Bing. Keep it up and I’ll visit more often