Real Weight Is Rising. So Is Ideal

Americans are putting on the pounds, but that's ok with them because their "ideal" weight is also rising, according to a Gallup Survey. "One apparent way Americans cope with the knowledge they are gaining weight and the potential health problems this entails is to adjust their idea of what they should weigh," reports Gallup.

In the past decade, the average man has gained two pounds and now weighs 195. The average woman has gained three pounds and now weighs 158. (These are self-reported rather than measured weights and likely to be underestimates.) For both men and women, "ideal" weight climbed four pounds over the past decade—to 183 for men and 140 for women.

As men and women have gained weight, fewer regard themselves as overweight. Only 35 percent of men consider themselves to be overweight, down from 38 percent 10 years ago. Forty percent of women consider themselves overweight today, down from 45 percent a decade ago. "Until these trends can be reversed...the weight problem that plagues the U.S. is not going away," concludes Gallup.

Source: Gallup, Americans Weigh More but Shun "Overweight" Label