Americans Heavier Than Ever, But Most Still Say Their Weight Is "About Right"

A Gallup poll reports that on average Americans weigh almost 20 pounds more than they did in 1990, based on the self-reports of more than 1,000 people. The average man weighs 196 pounds while the average woman is 160 pounds. And most of us—62 percent—are already overweight or obese. But that doesn't mean we're ready to come right out and admit it, at least not to a telephone pollster. When asked how they would describe their own weight, only 39 percent of Americans described themselves as "overweight," while 56 percent reported their weight was “about right.” Neither of these metrics have changed very much since the poll was first given 21 years ago. At the same time, 59 percent say they'd like to lose weight [PDF]. At first this seems to contradict the "about right" result, but it can probably be explained by people's reluctance to describe themselves as "overweight," ...