Now tell the truth …

Obesity levels in some US states may be much higher than previously believed, according to a study conducted by Majid Ezzati, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health. Most state obesity levels are based on telephone surveys, in which men tend to overestimate their height and women underestimate their weight, which skews the findings. Surveys involving face-to-face interviews where participants are weighed after they give their own estimates reveal obesity rates up to 50 percent higher than when self-reported by telephone.

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