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The Fit-Fat Struggle in U.S., Canada, Britain

The Fit-Fat Struggle in U.S., Canada, Britain

by Coleen McMurray

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report describes obesity as a condition with "serious social and psychological dimensions," which "threatens to overwhelm both developed and developing countries." The WHO estimates that at the turn of the millennium, the number of obese adults exceeded 300 million worldwide.

Recent Gallup polling* in three developed nations -- Canada, the United States, and Great Britain -- reveals that a majority of adults in each country feel that their current weight is "about right." However, about 4 in 10 Americans and Canadians consider themselves to be either "very" or "somewhat" overweight, and 35% of Britons classify themselves as overweight. Perhaps surprisingly, significant gender differences are not apparent in personal weight assessments in any of the three countries.

The desire to lose weight is greatest among Americans (60% want to lose weight, compared to 32% who prefer to stay at their present weights), while adults in Great Britain are almost evenly divided between wanting to lose weight (46%) and wanting to stay at their present weights (48%). Slightly more Canadians say that they would like to lose weight (52%) than say they want to stay as they are (41%).

In each of the three counties surveyed, women are more likely than men to want to lose weight, but this "gender gap" is largest in the United States, at 17 points (51% for men, 68% for women) and smallest in Great Britain, at 7 points (42% for men, 49% for women). In Canada, 45% of men want to lose weight versus 59% of women -- a gap of 14 points.

Many people say they would like to weigh less, but how many are actively trying to lose weight? In the United States, though 41% of adults say they are "very" or "somewhat" overweight, only 28% say that they are "seriously trying to lose weight." This pattern is true in Canada as well -- 39% of Canadians say they are overweight, but only 24% are seriously working to shed the pounds. In Great Britain, 35% feel that they are overweight, but 15% are actively trying to lose weight.

Again, gender differences are most pronounced among Americans; 21% of men say that they are seriously trying to lose weight, compared to 35% of women -- a 14-point gap. However, among Canadians, the gap is only six points (21% for men, 27% for women), and the gap among Britons is statistically insignificant (14% for men, 16% for women).

Bottom Line

A WHO report published in 1997 concluded that the causes of obesity are primarily sedentary lifestyles and high fat, energy-dense diets. According to Gallup research, more than a third of adults in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada say they are at least somewhat overweight, and more than half in each country can be classified as "low exercise" or "sedentary." With the abundance of research indicating the rising rates of obesity and the link to serious health problems, it is more important than ever for adults to improve their diets and exercise more.

*Results for the U.S. are based on telephone interviews with 1,007 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Nov. 3-5, 2003. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

Results in Canada are based telephone interviews with 1,012 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 5-11, 2003. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup Canada.

Results in Great Britain are based telephone interviews with 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 2-21, 2003. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup UK.

Results for the Canada and Great Britain surveys may not equal 100% due to rounding error.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/10342/fitfat-struggle-us-canada-britain.aspx
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