According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more Americans are overweight than ever; however, new data from Gallup shows that far fewer of us actually think we’re overweight. An article appeared in the Washington Post recently that uses charts to help tell this story and to demonstrate the widening gap between how overweight we think we are and the reality of how overweight we actually are.

“Today, close to half the people who are overweight or obese don’t think they’re overweight or obese.”

It is suspected that if the obesity rate continues as it has for the past 40 years or so, Americans are going to continue the trend of getting heavier until around 2050. Despite continuous efforts by state and federal policymakers to put programs into place, it has been suggested that these efforts haven’t worked because they do not address the fundamental cause of the problem. What may this fundamental cause be? Check out this Newsweek article as well, as it provides a theory.