According to a new poll, many Americans say they’d rather shrink their waistlines than live a longer life. The surprising results found that almost 50% of respondents to an on-line survey would trade a year of life for a thinner waist. Even more surprising is that 15% of people said they would cut their lives by 10 years just to be thinner.
Of the 4,000 people surveyed, some were even willing to take major injuries such as the loss of a limb or blindness over significant weight gain. This emphasizes the negative feelings we have in America about obesity. In this case, we can see that many people view weight as a purely cosmetic problem.
This study shows the magnitude of the distaste Americans feel toward weight gain. The statistics go on and on with another 30% preferring divorce, 15% preferring depression, and 14% preferring alcoholism to obesity.
What researchers found surprising was that even people who are overweight or obese have negative feelings toward excess weight. This separates obese and overweight people from other groups in society that find comfort or power in their shared trait.
The most intriguing thing is that patients can often reduce their risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and other life- shortening illnesses simply by losing weight. So, really, the people who say they’d rather lose years off of their lives than be fat are asking for exactly the opposite of what they are getting — people who are obese are the ones who tend to live shorter lives.
So, people may be willing to give up years of life or marriage to get thinner waistlines, but, in reality, would they be able to make the simple, necessary sacrifices such as passing on those cookies or trading a fast-food burger for a dressing-free salad? That’s the question that will determine the future health and life spans of Americans.
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Tags: obesity, quick weight loss
