From our body weight to our choice of literature, you may be surprised
by all the things us ladies get wrong! Uncover some surprising female
health mistakes and misconceptions with these 5 things every woman gets
wrong.
Body weight
We have bad news, ladies – according to research
studies, we’re all fatter than we think! A British Government survey
found that we are all guilty of underestimating our size, with women
misjudging their weight the most. The study found that the average woman
is 5lbs heavier than she thinks she is, and for women in their late 30s
this goes up to 8lbs. Furthermore, nearly half of all parents of obese
children thought their child was the right weight.
These results corroborate findings by Columbia University
researchers which showed that overweight mothers tend to underestimate
their own and their children’s weight. Experts believe many of us
underestimate our weight in a bid to convince ourselves we’re not too
far off our ideal size, while the lead author of the study of Columbia
University believes it may also be because perception of weight has
become skewed as obesity and being overweight are becoming the norm.
Body shape
Not only do many of us believe we weigh less than we actually do,
according to research we are also not quite as curvaceous as we think. A
study of about 3000 women commissioned by the Vitality Show showed that
27 per cent of women believed they had an hourglass figure – one of the
most sought after body shapes – while only 21 per cent believed they
were the less coveted apple shaped. However, in reality more than half
had an apple shaped figure and far fewer women were hourglass shaped
than they thought.
In fact, experts believe that just 8 per cent of women have the
coveted hourglass shape, which is not only thought to be desirable to
the opposite sex but is also believed to have health benefits including
increased fertility and intelligence levels. Experts believe that the
lifestyle of modern working women is to blame for the decline in the
hourglass shape as stress increases the distribution of fat around the
abdomen.
Reading material
You might not think your choice of novel has any implications on
your wellbeing, however research by Virginia Tech has found that reading
chick lit could be bad for your health. It is well-documented that many
modern women (and men) suffer from body image issues and feel under
pressure to look a certain way. However, while many put this down to the
influence of underweight celebrities and models, the study suggests
that fictional icons could be just as bad for your self-esteem.
The study looked at the effect of chick lit protagonists with low
self esteem on readers, and found that reading about characters with low
body confidence made female readers more aware of their own size. The
participants reported feeling significantly less attractive when they
read about a slim character and significantly more worried about their
weight when they read about one with low self esteem. While this doesn’t
mean you need to ditch chick lit entirely, choosing novels with
characters with normal or high body confidence could help to give your
own a boost.
Self-worth
Research shows that many women underestimate themselves both
physically and intellectually, while men are more likely to overestimate
their virtues. Research results published in the journal Psychological Science
found that, when participants were placed in a setup described as
“speed meeting” with members of the opposite sex and asked to rate the
sexual interest of their partner, the men were more likely to
overestimate their attractiveness and the interest of their partner,
while most women underestimated their partner’s sexual interest.
Furthermore, an analysis of 25 studies by a professor at University
College London showed that, although men and women tend to have the same
average IQ, women also underestimate their intelligence while men
overestimate theirs. Also, not only did female participants give a lower
estimate of their own intelligence, both men and women tended to think
their male relations were more intelligent than their female ones.
Workouts
While your workouts may keep you fit and slim, research suggests
that women are failing in one key aspect when it comes to exercise –
improving strength. In fact, studies suggest that women are weaker than
they have ever been, which may be because many focus purely on weight
loss rather than strength. Concerns that muscles aren’t feminine are
also a key factor in our dwindling strength. However, while you may not
care about gaining muscles, poor muscle strength has many implications
for our health, including increased risk of osteoporosis and back and
joint pain.
Another mistake women make when it comes to workouts is following
the same regimes as their partner. A new study by researchers at the
University of Missouri shows that women and men respond to exercise and
diet in different ways, and that women need to do a lot more exercise
and pay more attention to their diet to reap the same results as men.
While exercising with your partner is a great way to stay motivated, try
to tailor your workout to get the results you want.
Hermes
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