Lesbians more accurately perceive their body weight

The National Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Health was quoted:

"It is encouraging that among lesbians there is some self-awareness about body weight…what we don't yet know, and what we must establish, is whether lesbian adults understand the health risks of being over weight or obese."

The comment was made after a new US survey reveals that over three-quarters of lesbian adults says they are overweight while 67 percent of all female adults declares the same, when asked to describe their body weight.

In this survey of 2,200 American adults aged 18 or older -- of which 119 adults were self-reported GLB respondents and an additional over-sample of 341 self-reported lesbians -- lesbians more accurately perceived their body weight than women in general because when the body mass index (BMI) is applied to survey responses, the percentage of overweight adult women (80%) is much closer to the proportion of overweight lesbian women (84%).

In addition, lesbians and women describe themselves as fit or very fit in similar numbers -- 19% of lesbians vs. 17% of all women surveyed.

Proponents of the study opined that, "these results enable us to gauge where lesbians may be found on the healthcare continuum" and expressed that the general concern centers on the nation's rising epidemic of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a number of other chronic or life threatening illnesses.

Of particular note, the survey found that there is a higher incidence of smoking among lesbians (42%) and GLB adults overall (38%) compared to heterosexuals (24%) or all adults (25%).

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive, a worldwide market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the LGBT market.