Survey Finds Many Women Very Uninformed About Weight Loss

A recent survey of women’s views on weight and weight loss may provide some clues as to why so many people in America are overweight or obese.

Conducted by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, the marketer of Splenda Sweetener Products, with the support of SHAPE magazine, the survey, which polled women across the country ages 25-54, returned thoughtful feedback on the state of weight loss in America today and the things women are -- or aren’t -- doing to stay healthy.

Always on their minds

On average, more than a third of American women think about their weight at least three times per day.  

Many think that achieving their weight loss goals or maintaining an "ideal" weight requires overly strict and drastic lifestyle changes.

Eighty-one percent of women surveyed do not think they are at their ideal weight but almost half are optimistic they will get down to it at some point in 2011.

Ill-informed

The survey also revealed when it comes to achieving or maintaining their ideal weight, most women are ill-informed on the most effective and/or healthy ways to do so.

For example, 91 percent of women were unaware of the amount of calories one needs to burn in order to lose a pound of fat (3,500 calories).

Women surveyed cited stresses, demands on their time, family obligations and financial problems as the reasons their weight loss efforts have been difficult.

With so many other factors on their minds, the survey also found that women tend to overlook nutritional value in their food purchases, ranking price, taste and quality higher.

In fact, only 17 percent of women ranked nutritional value as the most important factor when purchasing food.

Misinformation

The survey went on to reveal some detailed information on the steps women believe are necessary to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.

Many women reported believing that in order for an average woman to lose 20 pounds in one year, she would need to cut something like sweets or snacks out of her diet entirely (35 percent) or reduce her caloric intake to fewer than 1,000 calories per day (39 percent).

In reality, an average woman can successfully lose weight if she follows a calorically-appropriate diet and stays active.

"We found that many women are implementing major lifestyle changes to lose weight.  Oftentimes it's small, simple changes that are not only crucial to the weight loss process, but are also healthy and effective in the long run," said SHAPE magazine senior health and nutrition editor Sharon Liao. "We want to spread the message that it doesn't need to be really difficult to make a difference and get on the right track."

"If women have unrealistic ideas of what it takes to reduce calories and eat healthfully, they are more likely to become derailed in their weight loss efforts," said Fred Tewell, group product director for Splenda Sweetener Products.

Tewell said women who are trying to manage their weight need to know that incorporating healthier habits into their everyday routines is a good place to start.

Of course, Tewell recommends using Splenda in place of regular sugar, but considering 70 percent of the women surveyed said they regularly add sugar to food and beverages (almost half said they add sugar to their coffee), that may be an easy first step to cutting back on daily calories.