According to recent research, the heavier you are, the more likely your brain will distort your perception of distance and height.
The study shows that obese people see distances at least 10% further. This will inevitably start a negative cycle where they are more likely to pull out of exercising because it looks too daunting for them.
Researcher Jessica Witt of Colorado State University said of the study: “You’re not seeing the world as it is, you’re seeing the world in terms of your ability to act.”
In the study, Dr Witt recruited 66 random people and asked them a series of questions. One aspect of the research was that each person had to estimate how far away a traffic cone placed on a road was.
Slim candidates said it was 15m, and those who were obese judged the cone to be 30m away.
The cone was actually 25m away.
Heaviness is the most influencing factor, whether that be their own weight on their body or from carrying something.
“It’s this idea that if you are going to have to make more effort to ascend that hill because you are carrying this heavy backpack, the hill is going to look different,” told Dr Witt at an annual conference for the American Association for the Advancement of Science
She continued: “We think that these perceptual biases can create a vicious cycle for people with obesity where they see the world as impossible to navigate.”
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