Public Opinion and Weight Action About Diet Nutrition and Physical Activity - Most Americans Have Tried To Lose Weight, Americans' Changing Shapes And Sizes, Many Americans Deny Being Overweight

As far as the American public is concerned, obesity is the fourth most important health problem facing the country, after the cost of healthcare, healthcare access, and cancer.

—Frank Newport (Questions and Answers with the Editor in Chief, The Gallup Poll, November 30, 2004)

A November 2004 Gallup Poll revealed that knowledge about diet and the risks of overweight do not necessarily translate into behavioral change. A significant majority (62%) of Americans believed they should lose weight, even though less than half (41%) considered themselves overweight, and even fewer (29%) were actively trying to lose weight. It appears that Americans are somewhat confused about their own personal weight situations.

The American public is, however, certain that obesity, especially among children, is an important issue. A February 2005 Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive health-care poll found that more than three-quarters (77%) of adults and 70% of parents believe that childhood obesity in the United States is a major public health problem. The majority of survey respondents (86%) attributed the problem to parents' failure to pay adequate attention to their children's diets, and the same proportion believes that the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity will inevitably increase health-care costs in the future.

Despite the abiding sentiment that personal and parental responsibility are primary when it comes to lifestyle health choices, 83% of poll respondents thought that the schools and governments need to do a better job of limiting children's access to unhealthy foods and regulating food industry marketing and advertising to children. A lack of physical activity also is deemed critical, with the states rarely mandating physical education in schools, and even less often, actual physical activity (Kelly Gullo, "Most of the American Public, Including a Majority of Parents, Believe that Childhood Obesity in the U.S. Is a Major Problem," Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health Care Poll, vol. 4, no. 3, February 15, 2005).

purchase candy, compared with 84% of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds who said they were able to buy soda and candy. (See Figure 11.15.) responsible, while others chose health-care providers (19%) and the media (12%). Just 7% of respondents believed food providers such as restaurants should be responsible for educating children about weight. (See Figure 11.18.)