Over 40 pct overweight Australians judge their own weight as "normal": study

CANBERRA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Changing perceptions of body size has led more than 40 percent of overweight Australians to believe their weight was "normal," according to the results of a National Heart Foundation study.

Speaking about the National Heart Foundation's Shape of Australia report - a national survey of Australians' eating and exercising habits - National Heart Foundation dietitian Alison Aleese said one in seven Australians wasn't exercising at all, while those who were most active were aged between 45 and 49 years.

She told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio that it was a shame that younger generations were content with both their weight and exercise habits despite not quite being in the "normal weight range."

"One of the unfortunate things about having so many people above a 'healthy weight' is that it's actually normal now to be above a healthy weight," Aleese said.

"That means when we look around and we see friends and family, we begin to think it's normal to be a bigger size than what we used to be."

"We found in this survey that about 43 percent of people who were above a healthy weight actually judged their own weight as 'normal'."

The survey took into account the dietary and exercise habits of more than 2,000 Australians aged between 25 and 49, and while it found that half of all respondents were trying to lose weight in some capacity, it was those in the 45 to 49 years age range who were most active.

"It was surprising to see people in their 40s were more actives, particularly more so than younger adults, but we saw that those in the 45-to-49 age group were doing more each week," Aleese said.