Underscoring the country's overweight epidemic, 58 percent would like to lose weight — nearly twice its level, 31 percent, in 1951. But far fewer, only 27 percent, are seriously trying to slim down, and their commitment isn't clear: Two-thirds of those who say they're trying to lose weight aren't following any specific plan to help them pull it off.

There are serious consequences. Overweight Americans are more likely to have overweight children, and less likely to report "excellent" personal health. Those who are getting recommended levels of exercise, by contrast, are much more likely than others to describe their overall health as excellent, and much less apt to be obese.

Obesity Concern Rates With AIDS, Drug Abuse

Americans recognize the problem, rating obesity alongside heart disease, cancer, AIDS and drug abuse as among the nation's most-pressing public health problems. Six in 10 say the government is doing too little to address childhood obesity in particular, placing it first on the list of health problems on which the public favors greater federal action.

Sampling, data collection and tabulation for this poll were done by TNS.

At the same time, however, considerably more people blame Americans' own behavior rather than any other factors for the obesity problem — and government policies and laws rank last on the list.

These and other results come from a comprehensive ABC News/TIME magazine poll on obesity, part of a joint reporting project, "Critical Condition: America's Obesity Crisis." The national, random-sample survey covers Americans' attitudes, policy preferences and personal experiences as they relate to the issue.

Few Take Action to Control Weight

In terms of personal actions, the survey finds that fewer than half of Americans even try to monitor their fat intake, and fewer — around a third — try to keep any track of calories and carbohydrates. Moreover, only 12 percent to 19 percent keep "close" track of any of these, and a mere 6 percent "closely" track all three of them.

Your Consumption of ...
	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	All Three
Keep Any Track	35 %	46	35	21
Keep Close Track	12 %	19	15	6

Further, while many people, 77 percent, report that they do get some exercise, 71 percent also say they don't get as much as they should. Just 26 percent report getting "vigorous" exercise producing a large increase in heart rate and breathing; 23 percent report vigorous exercise at least three times a week for more than 20 minutes per session, as recommended by many health experts.

It matters: Among those who get vigorous exercise, 52 percent say they're in excellent health, compared with 25 percent of other Americans and just 17 percent of those who don't exercise at all. And among Americans who get the recommended level of exercise, 9 percent report a body mass index (a calculation based on height and weight) that classifies them as obese; among those who get no exercise, three times as many — 28 percent — are obese.

Diets Rarely End in Long-Term Weight Loss

But dieting clearly is difficult: Among Americans who've tried a diet plan in the past (29 percent of the public), fewer than half say they were able to lose weight and keep it off. The biggest problem cited is not time, money or information — but a lack of willpower.

In sum, while 58 percent of Americans would like to lose weight, just 27 percent are seriously trying to do so; just 23 percent are getting the recommended level of exercise; 10 percent are following a particular diet plan; and only 6 percent closely track their intake of calories, fats and carbohydrates.

Exercise, one of the main components of maintaining good weight, is a problem for a sizable number of children, as well. Among parents of school-age children (6 to 17), 42 percent say their child isn't getting as much exercise as she or he should.

It matters here, too: Among children whose parents say they don't get enough exercise, 35 percent are described by their parents as overweight and 23 percent have a BMI (as reported by their parents) equated with overweight or obesity. By contrast, among those who do get enough exercise, just 3 percent are called overweight by their parents, and 6 percent have high BMIs.

Perception of Children’s Weight
	"Overweight" Per Parents	Overweight/Obese Per BMI
Get Enough Exercise	3 %	6
Not Enough Exercise	35 %	23

Among kids who watch three or more hours of television a day, 21 percent are called overweight by their parents; among those who watch less TV, slightly fewer, 13 percent, are described as overweight.

Two sources of physical activity for kids are gym and after-school sports. While 83 percent of parents say their child has phys ed class at school, it's a five-day-a-week proposition for just 29 percent. And while 58 percent participate in regularly scheduled after-school or weekend sports activities, 41 percent don't. Kids who are in after-school sports programs are twice as likely as others to be described by their parents as getting enough exercise.

Looking for Answers in Policy

On the policy level there's support for a variety of initiatives. Majorities favor mandatory warning labels on fattening foods, a ban on advertising such foods to children and mandatory disclosure of calorie and fat content on restaurant menus. (Seven in 10 also oppose allowing soda and candy vending machines in schools, even if they raise funds for school budgets.)

None of the legislative actions proposed, however, gets majority "strong" support, making them more a preference than a public demand. And most people oppose two more severe measures: a tax on fattening foods with the proceeds used for anti-obesity programs, and legal limits on restaurant portion sizes.

Support for Legislation
	Net Support	"Strong" Support
Put warning labels on fattening foods	74 %	49
Make restaurants disclose fat, calories	61	38
Ban advertising to children	56	36
Tax fattening foods	41	21
Limit restaurant portions	23	11

Personal Responsibility

The likely reason is that Americans look to themselves as the root of the problem. Eighty-seven percent say the main responsibility for obesity lies with "individual Americans in their choice of diet and lack of exercise," giving it far and away the top blame. Indeed it's the only item tested that a majority gives "a great deal" of blame for obesity.

Responsibility for Obesity?
	Net	"Great Deal"
Individuals in their diet/exercise	87 %	67
Fast-food restaurants	64	43
Schools that allow fattening snacks	64	40
Manufacturers of fattening foods	61	36
Advertisers of fattening foods	60	35
Government policies and laws	41	20

Similarly, more than eight in 10 cite poor eating habits and a lack of exercise as the leading causes of obesity, placing these well above other possible factors, such as the marketing of fattening foods to children, restaurant portion sizes or a lack of information.

The "cost of buying healthy food" is in the middle of the list, cited by 46 percent as a top cause of obesity, but this result is closely linked to income. Among people with household incomes less than $20,000 a year, 65 percent call the cost of food a major cause of obesity. Among those with incomes over $100,000, this falls to 26 percent.

Top Causes of Obesity
Lack of exercise	86 %
Poor eating habits	84
Marketing to kids	65
Too much TV	59
Family History	50
Cost of healthy food	46
Oversize portions	44
Lack of information on good eating habits	44
Lack of information on food content	38

Willpower and Time in Short Supply

Marketing — third on the list of causes of obesity — is a concern to many. Sixty-two percent of Americans believe that manufacturers of processed foods engage in misleading advertising to sell high-calorie products, and 54 percent believe that fast-food restaurants do the same. Far fewer, however —14 percent and 12 percent, respectively — say people should be allowed to sue over that, another indication of the public's focus on personal responsibility.

Whoever's responsible for obesity, most people don't support punitive measures by health insurance companies. Seventy-two percent say insurers should not be permitted to charge higher premiums for overweight people (this includes two-thirds of those who are not overweight themselves), and an overwhelming 93 percent say it should not be legal for insurers to drop overweight people from coverage entirely.

As noted, among those who'd like to lose weight, 40 percent say "having the willpower" is the hardest thing for them personally, far ahead of other impediments such as having the time, exercising or taking the trouble to count calories.

Hardest Thing About Losing Weight (Among those who want to lose weight)
Having the willpower	40 %
Having the time	20
Doing the exercise	14
Counting calories	11
Paying for healthy food	8
Knowing what to do	4

Among people who are currently trying to lose weight (27 percent of Americans), self-designed diet plans are most popular, followed (in single digits) by the Atkins, South Beach and Weight Watchers programs. Far and away first, however, is the 64 percent who say they're not following any particular weight-loss diet plan.

Most Popular Diet Plans (Among those seriously trying to lose weight)
Own/self-designed	12 %
Atkins	6
Weight Watchers	6
South Beach	5
Other	5
No plan	64

Twenty-nine percent, about as many who are trying to lose weight now, say they've followed weight-loss plans before. Some have done so often: Six percent of Americans say they've tried diet plans six or more times in the past.

The success rate is not great: Of those who've followed weight-loss diet plans in the past, 74 percent say at least some of them worked in helping them lose weight. But a quarter say they didn't lose weight, and another quarter say they lost weight but couldn't keep it off. The net total is that 48 percent say they lost weight and kept it off; 52 percent didn't.

GENDER — There's a strong gender gap across many of these activities and issues. Women are less likely than men to be overweight, given their self-reported body mass index (there may be some self-reporting issues here), but they're also 10 points more likely than men to describe themselves as overweight.

Sixty-eight percent of women say they'd like to lose weight, compared with 47 percent of men; and women are twice as likely as men to say they're seriously trying to do so (35 percent to 18 percent). Sixty-four percent of women, compared with 48 percent of men, call it "very important" to eat a balanced diet without too many calories. Women are more apt than men to be trying to keep track of their calorie, fat and carbohydrate intake, and also to have tried a diet plan — but less likely to say it worked.

Gender Breakdown — Who's Dieting?
	Women	Men
Like to lose weight	68 %	47
See balanced diet as "very important"	64	48
Keeping track of calories	42	27
Have tried a diet plan	39	18
If dieted, lost weight and kept it off	39	58
Trying to lose weight	35	18

Gender Differences and Denial

On issues, women are more likely than men to blame factors such as marketing to kids, the cost of food and school policies for the obesity problem, more apt to oppose vending machines in schools, and more supportive of steps such as banning advertising of fattening foods to children and requiring restaurants to list fat and calorie content.

The poll, while finding broad awareness of obesity issues, also indicates a certain level of disconnect or denial. Forty percent of Americans describe themselves as overweight, including 5 percent who say they're "very" overweight. But self-reported heights and weights produce "body mass index" figures that classify 50 percent as overweight, including 17 percent obese. And there can be self-reporting shortcomings (for example, 5 percent declined to give their height and/or weight); the federal Centers for Disease Control, based on physical examinations rather than self-reporting, estimates that 64 percent of American adults are overweight, and 30 percent obese.

Using the BMI numbers in this poll, there are significant differences across groups, with factors including income, education and race, as well as diets, exercise and other behaviors. Among people in households with less than $20,000 in annual income, 27 percent are obese; in $75,000+ households it's only one in 10. Obesity is more common among people who've never been to college (22 percent) than it is among college graduates (again one in 10); and 29 percent of blacks are obese, compared with 16 percent of whites.

There's also evidence of divided interests: While 87 percent of Americans say eating a healthy and balanced diet is important to them personally, and 84 percent say the same about getting vigorous exercise, 82 percent also say it's important to them to "enjoy life without worrying too much about diet and exercise." People in this group are 13 points more likely to describe themselves as overweight, and nine points more likely to report a high BMI.

TV, Internet and the Fast-Food Factor

Sitting in front of a glowing screen is perceived as one of the problems in obesity; as noted, 59 percent call "watching too much television" a major cause. There is a link: Among people who watch an hour or less of TV a day, 9 percent are obese; among those who watch four hours or more daily, it's 25 percent. (There's also a link among children, described above.)

At the same time, self-reported TV time is about the same now as it's been in polls going back to the mid-'70s — it hasn't grown, while obesity has, suggesting the link is not causal.

An activity that has increased is use of the Internet — 64 percent of Americans now spend at least some time each week using the Internet or e-mail outside of work, up from 48 percent in 2000. This activity, however, doesn't show any relationship to obesity, either for adults or for kids.

People who eat out at restaurants more often than others are no more likely to report an overweight or obese body mass index. But it's different with fast food: People who report eating out more frequently at fast-food establishments are more apt to give a BMI that suggests they are slightly more apt to be overweight or obese, albeit not by a wide margin.

Then there are fresh fruit and vegetables, just like your mother said to eat. Eighty-nine percent of Americans say they keep them in the house, and it seems to matter: People who do not keep fresh fruit and vegetables in the house, while just 11 percent of the public, are twice as likely as others to report a body mass index that classifies them as obese.

Bias

Finally, this poll finds that there can be consequences to obesity other than health problems alone: Nearly one in 10 adult Americans, and two in 10 obese people, say they've experienced discrimination because of their weight. And 42 percent of Americans concede "at least some negative feelings" about overweight people, a possible source of hidden or subtle bias.

Methodology

This ABC News/TIME magazine poll was conducted by telephone May 10-16 among a random national sample of 1,202 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Field work done by TNS of Horsham, Pa.

See previous analyses, full questionnaire and details of the poll's methodology in our Poll Vault.