Editorial Team
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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : December 21, 2012 4:52 PM IST
Women's perception of their weight is lesser than they actually are. According to a study by Health and Social Care Centre, women underestimate their weight by an average of 5lbs and by almost twice as much as men.
If the actual weight is 11st 3lbs the average British women think they weigh 10st 11lbs, the Mirror reported. Women between 35 and 39 had the biggest gap between perception and reality. They think they are nearly 8lbs lighter than they actually are.
Men underestimate their weight by about 3lbs, by thinking they weigh 13st on average, when they actually weigh 13st 3lbs, the report said. The reason why women underestimate their weight more than men was not known.
More than 8,000 adults were quizzed by researchers for the study. They were asked about their perceived height and weight before their actual measurements were recorded. Parents were also asked what they thought of their child's weight before their child was measured - whether their son or daughter was about the right weight, too heavy or too light. Amazingly, according to the report Health Survey for England, nearly half of parents of obese kids thought their child was 'about the right weight'. Four out of five parents of overweight children thought their child was 'about the right weight'.
According to Tim Straughan, HSCIC chief executive, this survey gives a brand new insight into how the average adult in England has a different idea of their weight compared to what the scales actually show. He added that women appear to misjudge their weight more than men with women in their late thirties in particular underestimating their weight by nearly 8lb. Actual measurements would classify at 24 percent of men and 26 percent of women as obese. If peoples' perception of their weight and height were used to classify their weight, it would put the figures to 17 percent and 20 percent respectively.
