It is easy to become deluded about the state of your health when you look around and nearly everyone is in the same situation. People tend to benchmark themselves against the “normal”, and with obesity increasing in many parts of the world, a person who is a little overweight can easily convince himself he is perfectly healthy.

This is what many people are telling themselves, and new research suggests that Britons are the most delusional. A poll of 14,000 people in seven European countries found that 21 percent of overweight Britons believe they are a healthy weight, compared to 16 percent in France and 10 percent in Italy. It was also found that only 18 percent of British people even think obesity is a disease, which was the lowest out of the seven countries surveyed. Even more concerning is the fact that 36 percent of Britons who are clinically obese think they are merely overweight, compared to 28 percent in France and 18 percent in Italy.

With obesity becoming more socially acceptable, experts are becoming concerned that being overweight will continue its unabated progress and put more people in denial about the seriousness of the disease. Professor Pinki Sahota of Leeds Beckett University, deputy chairman of the Association for the Study of Obesity, stated: “Obesity is one of the fastest growing threats to the health and well-being of our society. And yet this survey shows that many people still appear to have little understanding of what equals a healthy weight. The new government, policymakers and health authorities should be greatly concerned by the findings of this survey. It confirms much greater effort is needed to educate people about the fact obesity is a disease.”

With more than 74 percent of men and 64 percent of women in the UK projected to be overweight by 2030, according to the World Health Organization, the epidemic is expected to cost the National Health Service 50 billion pounds by 2050. The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, has repeatedly warned that being overweight has become the new normal due to an unhealthy lifestyle and diet.

Take Sue Waldock, a human resources professional who weighed 21 stone (approximately 194 pounds) at age 62 and was told by her doctors that she needed weight loss surgery. She was shocked. In her words, “I knew I was overweight but I was quite active. I thought surgery was for other people, not me. Yes, I was in denial about it – it creeps up on you.”

Mrs. Waldock, who currently weighs 11 stone thanks to a private operation that cost her 10,000 pounds, said she struggled with her weight her entire life, but it wasn’t until later in life where she really noticed the impacts, like joint strain.

Even though the Department of Health has recognized the problem and provided funding to local authorities to tackle obesity in their areas, early comments suggest they might not totally understand the underlying details that lead to obesity. Focused on reducing fat, sugar, and salt in foods, their Change4Life campaign might lead consumers on another path that can be just as dangerous.

This direction has been taken in North America for many years now, and the low-fat and sugar diets have arguably created other problems due to their popular substitutions like artificial sweeteners. There are also dangers associated with avoiding beneficial fats that the body requires in order to function optimally.

Let’s not replace one problem with another. Instead, we must focus on the primary reasons people are overweight, namely excessive toxicity, malnutrition, chronic stress, and being sedentary. Then, authorities address the real cause of obesity and knock this epidemic down, one pound at a time.

Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.healingthebody.ca