New Study Reveals That Adults Are More Likely To Underestimate Their Body Size
People are often their body’s own worst critic. Dissatisfaction with one’s appearance has become an all-too-common norm.
Surprisingly though, a recently released study– published in Scientific Reports– found that while only a quarter of people reported being satisfied with their body size, less than half of adults can even accurately identify their size in the first place.
The study was conducted by Wojciech Gruszka and a team of researchers from 2010-2011. It included nearly seven hundred and fifty Polish participants.
Gruszka aimed to “assess separately the perception of weight status and body size, as well as body dissatisfaction, in adults with normal weight, overweight, and obesity.”
The researchers first asked each participant if they thought they were underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.
Then, to assess body dissatisfaction, the participants were presented with images of body silhouettes.
They were asked to mark the silhouette that is most similar to their current body and mark the silhouette that they desire to have.
The study found that only sixty-three percent of participants could correctly categorize their weight status.
The participants were also more likely to underestimate their BMI and body size. For example, thirty-five percent of overweight participants reported that they had a healthy body size.
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Additionally, nearly fifty percent of participants in the obese category self-reported as being overweight.
The report notes that many factors can contribute to a negative body image– including gender, race, age, and weight fluctuations.
Still, the relationship between body size and body image was not well-studied in people who are overweight or obese.
The study’s authors state that obese people are less likely to seek treatment and make necessary lifestyle changes if they misidentify themselves as within a healthy weight class.
The researchers also believe that this tendency to underestimate body size is due to the societal stigmas tied to obesity.
“It may also be difficult to accept the diagnosis made by the doctor,” the researchers added, “It seems that self-assessment of weight status and body size should be incorporated into the daily clinical management of people with obesity.”
To read the complete scientific study, visit the link here.
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