One in 10 Obese People Think Their Body Is Healthy

You should never be too hard on yourself when it comes to your weight. With that being said, it's important to be honest with yourself if the scale is teetering dangerously to one side. However, according to a Dallas Heart Study, nearly one in 10 obese individuals believe that their body size is normal and that they don't need to lose weight.

"That's a sizeable percentage who don't understand they are overweight and believe they are healthy," said Dr. Tiffany Powell, lead author of the study and a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The study's findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009. Of the 2,056 obese people polled (5,893 were involved in the study altogether), 8 percent were satisfied with their body size, felt they were healthy or could even gain weight.

"Despite having similar cardiovascular risk factors to those without body size misperception, they thought they were a healthier group," Powell said. Of those who were obese but perceived themselves to be healthy: Thirty-five percent had high blood pressure, 15 percent had high cholesterol, 14 percent had diabetes and 25 percent were smokers.

"They were also somewhat clueless about taking care of themselves," Powell said. "They did not visit doctors regularly. They did not exercise regularly."

The study's results reveal an interesting conundrum. While it's important to have a positive perception of your body, how far does it go before this kind of self-delusion becomes dangerous? Tell us what you think. Are you comfortable with the way you look or do you think you could stand to lose or gain a few pounds?

Have you ever looked at an old picture of yourself and realized you were heavier or thinner than you thought? That's Fit's Jennifer Jordan did.