Adults acknowledge weight issues
Overweight Americans are well aware of the need to shed some pounds and get some exercise, but few are stepping on the treadmill and doing something about it. And the majority believe that they themselves, rather than the government or food industry, are principally to blame for their extra pounds.
Those are the results of a new ABC News/Time Magazine poll of 1,200 U.S. adults on issues of obesity, food and exercise.
The study, released Sunday, found that 58% of Americans would like to lose weight, but a little less than half reported that they are seriously trying to do so.
Lack of willpower is the biggest culprit, named by 40% of would-be dieters. Among those who have tried weight-loss plans in the past, 52% could not keep the weight off. And a mere 6% of people said they closely track their calorie, fat and carbohydrate intake.
The survey also found that, among parents of children ages 6 to 17, 42% said their kids aren’t getting as much exercise as they should, and see a correlation between lack of exercise and being overweight.
None of this surprises doctors familiar with the growing obesity epidemic in this country.
“The key to this is a concept that obesity experts have known for a long time: readiness to change,” said Dr. David Heber, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition.
“What we see from this report is that the vast majority of Americans are not ready to change,” he said. “Their previous history of failure of diet programs have made them cynical or reluctant to try again.”
But there might be some good news in these numbers, said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Center for Eating and Weight Disorders.
The poll found a majority of those surveyed support such policy changes as placing warning labels on fattening foods, having restaurants disclose more dietary information about menu items, and banning advertising of junk food to children. And although most people blame themselves for being overweight, they also said that fast-food restaurants, schools and food companies that manufacture and advertise less-healthful foods should share responsibility.
Brownell said the results demonstrate that the public is more willing to support changes that would help address the obesity epidemic.
“A lot of people give up losing weight because it’s hard,” he said. “But I don’t think that means people aren’t trying. It ultimately comes down to the choices people make, but they’re beginning to think we have to create an environment where it’s easy for people to make good choices.”
