America Is Heavier Than It Wants To Be

If you identified your ideal weight, what would it be? Would you go for 140 pounds? 150 pounds? If you’re like most Americans, not only have you gained weight over the past decade or two, your idea of an ideal weight has also climbed.

A report from Gallup shows that during the past 20 years, men’s idea of the perfect weight has increased by 14 pounds while women’s weight fantasies have swelled by 11 pounds.

Today, on average, men say that their best weight would be 185 pounds, but they actually weigh, on average, 196 pounds. Likewise, women report they’d like to weigh 140 pounds, but they average 156 pounds.

“Americans appear to be slowly shifting to higher weights, adjusting their expectations of what is ideal over time — mirroring the increase in actual weight,” researchers write in the study.

More than half of Americans polled in the research (65 percent) exceed their weight goal, while 13 percent weigh less than what they want. A mere 16 percent are content with what they weigh.

The report also indicates that 54 percent of us want to lose weight, but only 25 percent admit that we are taking serious steps to do so.

The study did not determine what a healthy weight for the respondents would have been.