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STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY HEALTH PULSE OF AMERICA September 1 – September 25 For Release: October 12, 2005 CONTACT: Carol Davies (631) 632-4377
Men Lag Behind Women in Concern about Diet and Weight
Americans are increasingly worried about adult obesity. Just under 6 in 10 (59%) said they were very concerned about the problem in May, 2003; this increased to 68% in the current poll (September 2005), a large increase for a two-year period. But men remain less concerned than women about their diet and weight, even though a greater percentage of men than women are overweight based on a BMI score of greater than 25 (1999-2000 NHANES; http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/databriefs/adultweight.pdf).
Most Americans report paying some or a great deal of attention to their diet, including calorie content (64%), fat content (65%), and protein content (63%). There are almost no differences, between adults with normal weight and those who are obese in how closely they monitor their calorie intake. But there are clear gender differences in attention to diet and concern about one’s weight; women are more concerned about diet and weight than are men.
Similar gender differences occur among men and women aged between 18 and 34 with the exception that men in this age group are somewhat more likely to think about the protein content of what they eat than are young women:
METHODOLOGY
The poll was conducted between September 1 and September 25 by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research. 830 adults were interviewed nationally. The poll was based on an RDD sample of telephone numbers drawn from blocks with at least one-listed residential number. Up to 7 contact attempts were made at each selected household and individuals were selected at random within households. Findings within each of four regions of the country (Northeast, Midwest , South, and West) were weighted using post-stratification weights for age, education, and gender in accordance with statistics of the Census Bureau Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey for the reference year 2004. Overall national findings were additionally weighted using pre-stratification weights to correct for the differential probability of selection in each region. The margin of error is plus/minus 3.4 percentage points. STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY HEALTH PULSE OF AMERICA September 1-25, 2005 NOTE: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Recoded responses of an open-ended question How serious a health problem is obesity among American adults:
__________________________________________________________________________ What do you think is the primary factor causing obesity among adults:
__________________________________________________________________________ How much thought do you usually give to the CALORIE CONTENT of the food that you eat?
__________________________________________________________________________ How much thought do you usually give to the FAT CONTENT of the food that you eat?
__________________________________________________________________________ How much thought do you usually give to the PROTEIN CONTENT of the food that you eat?
__________________________________________________________________________ Would you rather live longer, even if it means having to watch your diet, OR would you rather eat what you feel like even if it means you would not live as long as you might otherwise?
__________________________________________________________________________ Thinking about your diet, including what you eat at home and what you eat out, would you say your diet is made up of:
__________________________________________________________________________ How concerned are you about your own weight at the present time?
__________________________________________________________________________ Do you favor or oppose a new government tax on junk food in order to reduce obesity among children and adults, similar to existing government taxes on cigarettes and alcohol?
__________________________________________________________________________ Do you think food manufacturers should be REQUIRED BY LAW to reduce serving sizes and fat and sugar content to make their products healthier, or is it up to INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS to CHOOSE healthy food products?
__________________________________________________________________________ Do you think that government funded health insurance programs such as Medicare for the elderly or Medicaid for low-income people should cover the cost of nutrition counseling for overweight patients, or not?
__________________________________________________________________________ Should government health insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid subsidize the cost of fitness programs, such as attending a gym or fitness classes, for overweight patients, or not?
__________________________________________________________________________ Some people think the government should take action against obesity because it increases the cost to taxpayers of government health care programs such as Medicare/Medicaid. Others think the government should stay out of matters such as what people eat or how often they exercise. Which comes closest to your own view:
__________________________________________________________________________ Sample Composition
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