Obese? Not Me! Tell the Fat Guy.

Overweight, Normal, or Underweight most of us mis-perceive our actual body size.

Tiffany Powell reported at the American Heart Association Science Sessions that obese people who mis-perceive their ideal body size have double trouble: they already have increased risks associated with obesity and they think they are smaller than they should be.

5893 people who participate in the Dallas Heart Study were asked to self-identify their body size as below normal, normal, or above normal. The difference in perceived body size was compared with the subject's actual body size.

Those with below normal or normal body sizes generally self-identified as being larger than their ideal. Those with above normal body sizes saw themselves as being below their ideal.

The people who underestimated their larger than ideal body size were more likely to be female, African American, had a higher body mass index, higher systolic blood pressure, and higher insulin resistance.

Powell concluded that addressing this mis-percerption may be important in preventing and treating obesity.

Click here it read the research abstract

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