Fat people stick together so they don't feel judged: Being overweight is considered OK if everyone around you is a similar size

Happiness is about feeling accepted - this means being similar size to others

If people are fat, but surrounded by other fat people, they are happy

In those who are unhappy, it is often being stigamised that makes them depressed, rather than their physical size, say researchers



Overweight people can be just as happy as their skinny friends - as long as they are surrounded by others of a similar shape.

How your figure compares with others in the community is key when it comes to feeling good about yourself, a study has found.



The finding could explain why more than three-quarters of people in some towns are overweight or obese, as couch potato lifestyles and unhealthy diets become the norm.

Happiness is... feeling like you fit in: Researchers have found that overweight people tend to stick together so they don't feel judged

The U.S. researchers found most people are absolutely content - even if they are out of shape - as long as most of those around them are wobbling about as well.



Sociologist Philip Pendergast said: 'The most interesting finding for us was in U.S. counties where obesity is particularly prevalent, being obese has very little negative effect on one's life satisfaction.

'In addition, we found being 'normal weight' has little benefit in counties where obesity is especially common.



'This illustrates the importance of looking like the people around you when it comes to satisfaction with life.'

The study, reported in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, analysed more than 1.3 million people across the U.S. by evaluating their life satisfaction in the context of where they lived and comparing the results with varying rates of obesity.



Phd student Mr Pendergast, of the University of Colorado-Boulder, said: 'Where obesity is more common there is less difference among obese, severely obese, and non-obese individuals' life satisfaction.

'But where obesity is less common, the difference in life satisfaction between the obese and non-obese is greater. '



He added that obesity does not seem to be the main reason obese people are less satisfied with life.

Obesity does not seem to be the main reason obese people are less satisfied with life, the study found. Rather, it is the 'stigmatisation' of being abnormal that causes low mood

Rather, it is the 'stigmatisation' of being abnormal that causes them to feel low.



The researchers say that before accounting for where people live, severely obese men are 20 per cent less likely to say they are 'very satisfied' with their lives. In women this figure rose to 43 per cent.



But the picture is very different among people in counties where obesity is common.



Obese men are 80 per cent more likely to be happy if they move from an area where a quarter of people are their size to an area where half of people share their size. In women, this figure is 60 per cent.



The study offers a potential explanation for the exponential increase in obesity in the US, and Britain, over the past thirty years.



Mr Pendergast said: 'Our findings demonstrate where obesity is most prevalent, the difference in life satisfaction between the obese and non-obese is smaller for women and almost non existent for men.



'This offers f urther insight into why obesity prevalence has increased so dramatically in recent years.'





