Survey Shows Weight Rivals the Economy as Source of Stress
Despite the biggest recession since the Great Depression, a recent survey found that 60 percent of respondents feel their weight causes just as much or more stress than the economy. Of 630 people surveyed, mostly women, it is clear that negative thoughts about our bodies persist even as times are tough. "What do we do when we're stressed about the economy, our weight, or anything else?" said Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, director of Green Mountain at Fox Run, a women's healthy weight loss spa in Vermont that conducted the online survey. "Many of us eat, and it shows up as extra pounds and inches over the years."
Ludlow, Vermont (PRWEB) May 7, 2009 -- Even as the economy flounders, 60 percent of people say that worries about their weight create as much or more stress in their lives than their economic woes.
Out of a total of 636 people (the vast majority of whom were women) surveyed in March and April:
| | - 29 percent say weight worries create the most stress in their lives.
- 40 percent say it's the economy.
- 31 percent say the two are equally stressful.
|
Women's Negative Thoughts about Their Bodies are a Constant
Given the current economic crisis, the findings may come as a surprise, but concern about weight is a constant for many women. They spend their lives worrying about what they eat, what exercise they should be doing, what they look like to others...the list goes on; the stress is never-ending.
"We're in the process of trying to buy a house and pay off lots of credit card debt," said one woman who took the survey. "That is very stressful, too. But I think about and stress over my weight much more than the economy." She also added she felt shallow for feeling that way.
"We had a hunch that weight would rank close to the economy as a source of stress," said Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, director of Green Mountain at Fox Run, a women's healthy weight loss spa in Vermont that conducted the online survey. "But what's perhaps more interesting is how stress itself impacts us. What do we do when we're stressed about the economy, our weight, or anything else? Many of us eat, and it shows up as extra pounds and inches over the years."
To end weight worries, and the stress they create, Green Mountain at Fox Run recommends that women stop paying attention to their weight and instead focus on their behaviors. "When we're engaged in behaviors that promote health, we'll also move our bodies towards a healthy weight," says Hudnall. "Ultimately, it's about doing things that make us feel well. Constantly trying to lose weight rarely does that."
About the Survey
The survey was conducted online Green Mountain at Fox Run over the course of two months on Survey Monkey. We recruited people to take the survey through e-mail, on our blog, on message boards and via Twitter. It was not sent to past participants of Green Mountain so as not to skew the results. Of the 636 people that took the survey, 91 percent were female. The age groups were as follows: 7 percent were over 60; 21 percent were ages 51-60; 22 percent were 41-40; 23 percent were 31-40; 25 percent were 21-30; 2 percent were under age 20. Their work status was: 77 percent employed; 17 percent unemployed; 6 percent retired.
About Green Mountain at Fox Run
A Women's Weight Loss Retreat, Green Mountain at Fox Run offers a proven healthy lifestyle program that teaches how to eat instead of starve, move our bodies for pleasure and physical well-being, and manage stress and negative self-image. In operation for 37 years, Green Mountain pioneered the non-diet approach to achieving healthy weight loss. You can learn more about us at www.fitwoman.com or call 800-448-8106 (802-228-8885).
As one of the oldest Adult Weight Loss Camp, we offer special programs for women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and a women's type 2 diabetes management program.
For more information on the survey, vist our blog A WeightLifted or contact Marsha Hudnall at 800-448-8106 or mhudnall@tds.net
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