Normalizing obesity

It’s hard not to notice the number of individuals who are overweight these days. So with all the New Year Resolutions you have to wonder if there is an increasing dedication (however temporary) to losing weight. According to a study by Snook et al (2017) probably not.

As increasing body weight becomes more and more common, it also becomes more socially acceptable. The more acceptable it is, the easier it is to be satisfied with your weight and the harder it is to be motivated to lose weight. The study looked at 1988-1994, 1999-2004, and 2009-2014. During this time period overweight and obesity increased from 52% to 65%. During that same period however, the percentage of those adults who were trying to lose weight decreased from 55% to 49%.

Now, the researchers admit that they don’t really know why the intention to lose weight has decreased. Based on other evidence it is likely that the acceptability of higher body weight is part of it. But there may also be factors such as trying and failing to lose weight previously.