Are you in denial?

Nearly 90 per cent of obese people in our society are able to identify that they have this serious health issue – they’re in denial.

In a survey that examined 2,000 adults and their perception of obesity, those with the condition wrote it off as being overweight. Fewer than 10 per cent could admit that they had a problem.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a quarter of Australia’s children and 63 per cent of the adult population are seriously overweight…that’s 12 million people.

Our obesity levels are on par with America’s, and that’s not something to be proud of.

While there are medical conditions that can cause huge weight gain, there are a large proportion of Australians who are eating too much and exercising too little.

Experts are beginning to fear that this survey highlights a trend that obese people are not seeing their life-threatening condition because it has become normalised in our society. Also, the term ‘obese’ has negative connotations so people reject it despite being a medical term, and when survey respondents were asked if they were ‘very overweight’, they denied it as well, which is even more alarming.

Excess weight is known to increase the risk of several types of cancer including cancers of the breast in post-menopausal women, bowel, womb, oesophagus, pancreas, kidney and gallbladder.

It is clear we need our government to address this serious health problem, and it is on their radar…they’ve identified it as one of the 9 National Health Areas and have recently provided grants worth $12 million.

The 18 grants each take a unique approach to tackling obesity, from transforming ‘bad’ fat into ‘good’ fat associated with leanness and weight loss, to exploring the interaction between genetics, dietary habits and weight gain, says the Nation Health and Medical Research Council.

Do you know someone who suffers from obesity? Do they know they have a problem? What are they doing to get help? Tell us below.