Many Americans Don't Even Know They are Fat

Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll finds 30 % of those overweight think they're normal size. Many Americans have distorted perceptions when it comes to their weight, often believing they are thinner than they really are, even when the scales are shouting otherwise, a new poll finds.As part of the Harris Interactive/Health Day survey, respondents were asked to offer their height and weight, from which pollsters calculated their body-mass index (BMI), a ratio of mass to height. Respondents were then asked which category of weight they thinking they fell into.
Thirty percent of those in the "overweight" class supposed they were actually normal size, while 70 percent of those classified as obese felt they were simply overweight. Among the heaviest group, the morbidly obese, almost 60 percent pegged themselves as fat, while another 39 percent considered themselves just overweight.
These results may help to explain why overweight and obesity rates in the United States persist to go up, experts say."Whereas there are some people who have body images in line with their real BMI, for many people they are not, and this may be where part of the problem lies," said Regina Corso, vice president of Harris Poll Solutions. "If they do not differentiate the problem or don't recognize the severity of the problem, they are less likely to do something about it."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34 percent of adults aged 20 and older are obese, and 34 percent are overweight. Among children, 18 percent of teens aged 12 to 19 are obese, 20 percent of children aged 6 to 11 are obese, as are 10 percent of kids aged 2 to 5.
"We're seeing the couch potato stigma [syndrome]," Corso said. "Three out of five Americans overall are saying they don't exercise as much as they should." As for weight-loss interventions, the respondents deemed surgery the most effective method, followed by prescription drugs, then drugs and diet-food supplements obtained over-the-counter.
"The American public knows this but it's hard and it's something that they're not quite ready to do," Corso added. "This wake-up call still isn't ringing as loudly as it could." The poll included 2,418 adults (aged 18 and over) who were surveyed online between Aug. 17 and 19.

Casual Sex Can be Lead to Long-Term Relationships

People who "hook up" for casual sex can have as rewarding a long-term relationship as those who take it slowly and establish a meaningful connection before they have sex, says a new study. University of Iowa researchers analyzed relationship surveys and found that average relationship quality was higher for people who took it slowly than for those who became sexually involved in "hook-ups," casual dating, or "friends with benefits" relationships.
However, having sex early on wasn't the reason for this disparity, according to UI sociologist Anthony Paik. When he factored out people who weren't interest in getting serious, he establish that those who became sexually involved as friends or acquaintances and were open to a serious relationship were just as happy as those who dated but delayed having sex.
The study analyzed a review of 642 heterosexual adults in Chicago. To calculate the quality of the relationships, people answered questions about how much they loved their partner, their level of approval with confidence in the relationship, the future of the relationship, and how their lives would be different if the relationship ended.
"We didn't see much proof that relationships were lower quality because they started off as hook-ups," Paik, an follower professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said in a UI news release.
"The study suggests that pleasing relationships are possible for those who delay sex. But it's also possible for true love to appear if things start off with a more 'Sex and the City' approach, when people spot each other across the room, become sexually concerned and then build a relationship," he added.
The study is published in the August issue of the magazine Social Science Research.