The Fat Gap

A skewed perception of what constitutes a healthy weight.

Reporting on recent research that suggested the majority of overweight Britons are unaware that they are too heavy, The Telegraph revealed:

They are suffering from a new phenomenon dubbed “the fat gap” which has blurred public perception of what is a healthy weight.

Commenting on the research, the BBC’s health reporter Clare Murphyargued:

The findings appear to be fresh evidence of a phenomenon that health professionals have long suspected: as those around us get fatter, our perceptions of our own size change accordingly.

(The term “fat gap” has also been used to describe disproportionately high obesity rates among the poor, and the differing levels of obesity in different ethnic groups in Washington D.C.)