NEW RESEARCH has indicated that more people are failing to recognise that they are overweight. Researchers from the Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London compared data taken from two UK household surveys carried out in 1999 and 2007.
The study found that a greater number of respondents were clinically overweight or obese in 2007 than in 1999 but a smaller percentage of these people placed themselves in an overweight category.
The authors of the study suggest that the growing division between actual and perceived weight may be due to the fact that people were seeing more overweight people in the general population, and a person who was mildly overweight was now regarded as "normal".
They pointed out that when people failed to realise their weight was a problem, they were unlikely to heed campaigns encouraging healthier diets and lifestyles.
Irish obesity researcher Saoirse Nic Gabhainn of NUI Galway said such findings would not be surprising given that the percentage of people who were overweight was increasing. She said people's perceptions were likely to be related to the people they were seeing around them in their community and she also pointed out that high street stores were now stocking larger sizes so weight norms were changing.
However, she said it was also of concern that many people - particularly younger women - believed they were overweight when they were not. She and fellow researchers at the health promotion department at NUIG are currently doing research into "unnecessary dieting" by young women.
"I think people who are overweight generally know they are. But we are finding there is a problem with young women believing they are overweight when they are not. And that is just as big an issue," she said.
The researchers in London accept that it is generally found that women often view themselves as "too fat" while men typically underestimate their weight.
Lead researcher Prof Jane Wardle found the proportion of respondents whose weight placed them in the clinically obese category had nearly doubled from 11 per cent in 1999 to 19 per cent in 2007. In 1999, 43 per cent had a Body Mass Index (BMI) that put them in the overweight or obese range and 81 per cent of these correctly identified themselves as overweight. By 2007, 53 per cent had a BMI in the obese or overweight range but only 75 per cent of these correctly classed themselves as overweight.
The authors of the study, published in the British Medical Journal, suggested that media images of morbidly obese people may be adding to the misconception that extremely high weights are required to meet the medical criteria for "overweight".
They said it was of concern that a growing number of people did not realise that messages about healthy eating and exercise were aimed at them.
It was suggested that obesity should be treated as a multi-level problem - to educate the entire population on the importance of a healthy lifestyle, rather than focusing on overweight individuals.