^
A
A
A

People overestimate their physical fitness

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
 
Fact-checked
х

All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.

If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

21 December 2012, 15:54

Have you ever thought that there is a difference when a person sees his reflection in a home mirror and, for example, in a gym mirror? There is a feeling that the mirror that hangs in your own apartment reflects only our advantages, but all other mirrors can show disadvantages, including extra pounds.

Scientists have noticed something amazing: when women look in mirrors hung in the locker room of a gym, they think they look fatter than they actually are. However, experts have nothing to cheer up the ladies with, because they claim that it doesn’t just seem that way to them, in most cases it’s actually true.

A study by experts shows that people are generally optimistic when assessing their own weight, and women are firmly convinced that they weigh about two kilograms less than they actually do. Men, on the other hand, were a little more modest in their expectations and therefore habitually mow down their actual weight by about one kilogram.

Before measuring the height and weight of the study participants, the experts asked them how much they thought they could weigh. The scientists also weighed the children of the subjects and before that asked the parents about their child's weight in the same way. The specialists were interested in how the parents felt about their children's weight, whether they considered them too thin or, on the contrary, too fat for their age.

Almost half of parents whose children were obese responded that their child's weight did not exceed normal levels for their age.

The biggest gap between perception and reality was found among women aged thirty-five to thirty-nine. These ladies underestimated their weight by about three and a half kilograms.

People overestimate their physical fitness

"Our study provides new insights into how middle-aged people's perception of their weight differs from their actual weight," said lead study author Tim Straughan.

17% of men and 20% of women were unhappy with their weight. They said they considered themselves overweight. But in fact, the number of people whose weight exceeded the norm was significantly higher. Men who suffered from obesity turned out to be not 17, but 24%, and women who were overweight - 26%.

The study shows that people generally have a fairly accurate idea of how much they weigh, but the problem is that many people cannot accurately assess whether they are obese or about the right weight.

Based on a survey of 8,610 adult women, the experts concluded that adult women who weighed 75 kilograms were actually slightly heavier and weighed 75 kilograms. Men were not so optimistic and could more adequately estimate their weight. Those who weighed about 84 kilograms were off by only 1.5-2 kilograms.

In addition, scientists have noticed that people can overestimate not only their figure and weight, but also actually make mistakes in the amount of drinks they drink daily - they usually drank more than they thought. And the unhealthy lifestyle that about 37% of study participants lead affects their well-being - people complained of chronic pain that had lasted for more than three months.

trusted-source[ 1 ], [ 2 ]

You are reporting a typo in the following text:
Simply click the "Send typo report" button to complete the report. You can also include a comment.