American ideal and actual body weight continue to increase

When it comes to weight control, the American spirit is alive and well. If you can’t reach your goal…change it.

According to Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare survey, Americans, on average, think their ideal weight is 162 pounds. This continues a pattern of increasing ideal weight reports since Gallup first questioned Americans in 1990. The trend in Americans' self-reported actual weight has mirrored this increase over time, now averaging 176 pounds.

On average, men say their ideal weight is 185 pounds, the highest it has ever been. This number is up 14 pounds since Gallup’s first poll. Men’s average actual weight is up 16 pounds, the highest on record as well. Men report an average actual weight of 196 pounds, 11 pounds above their ideal.

Women, on average, say their ideal weight is 140 pounds, tying for the highest on record. Their average actual weight is 156. Women's average ideal weight is up 11 pounds since 1990, and their average actual weight is up 14 pounds during this time.

59 percent of men and 69 percent of women are over their ideal weight. About one in six adults are at their ideal weight. Two-thirds of all Americans are over their ideal weight, similar to last year. Significantly more men than women are under their ideal weight (20 percent to 7 percent). Six percent of Americans feel they are underweight, the same as it was in 1990.

Gallup and Healthways track Americans' self-reported height and weight daily to compute body mass index (BMI) scores as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The latest BMI calculations found that 61.9 percent of Americans were either overweight or obese. The majority of Americans, 4 out of 5, say their weight is "about right." This number is up from less than half (46 percent) in 1990. Even though most Americans say their weight is about right, over half say they would like to lose weight. However, only one in four says they are seriously trying to do so.