Aussie blokes in denial about beer guts

Apr 14 2008

Scientists from the Queensland University of Technology say when it comes to being overweight and obese, Australian men are in denial.

The researchers say even though more than 60% of Aussie men have a Body Mass Index over 30 which makes them clinically overweight only 34% regard themselves as fat.

According to the study into perceptions of weight by Dr Katrina Giskes from the Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, men are inclined to underestimate their weight status, whereas women are more likely to overestimate their weight.

Dr. Giskes says this makes it much more difficult to deal with men who are overweight.

Among the leading causes of death among Australians overweight and obesity are key risk factors and public health campaigns aiming to tackle these factors emphasise increasing physical activity and adopting a healthy diet.

Dr. Giskes says while there are some psychological benefits to positive perceptions of weight status, deceiving yourself you weigh less than you do makes it easier to ignore public health campaigns encouraging healthier food and more active lifestyles.

Dr. Giskes suggests such campaigns may prove to be unsuccessful and possibly harmful if the way people perceive their weight status, remains unaddressed.

She says the challenge is to promote this awareness differentially between gender and socio-economic groups.

For the study data from the National Health Survey of more than 34,000 men and women was used and it revealed that men from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds were even more likely to ignore the health risks associated with their beer gut.

The research found that while 37.4 per cent of women were overweight or obese, 42.8 per cent considered they were and this was more so amongst well-off, well-educated women.

This group of women are also those most likely to develop body image problems and eating disorders.

The research is published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.