How much honesty do you really want? Is it real friendship to tell some one they’re fat or can you tell them the truth in a none hurtful way?.
According to researchers, every woman has two friends she thinks are overweight.
However, one in five won’t say a word or dare suggest you should slim down, in fear upsetting your friendship, according to a recent study.
Instead of pointing it out and suggesting you do something to shed the excess pounds, most friends will simply continue to compliment and flatter you.
Only a quarter will pluck up the courage to tell a friend she should lose some weight and they probably wished they hadn’t - because 12 per cent said their friend was ‘devastated’ and a further 10 per cent said they ‘burst into tears’ on hearing the advice.
Nearly 50% said their friends could all do with dropping a few pounds. After blurting out the truth, one in 20 had ended a friendship when they were told they were overweight, according to a survey of 3,000 women for Tanita (Health Product Manufacture), in conjunction with National Obesity Week Magazine.
A spokesman for the company, which provides precision weighing equipment, said: ‘This shows girlfriends talk to each other about their bodies, weight issues and dress size on a daily basis. However, while women are comfortable talking about their own weight and criticizing themselves, in truth, most women would NOT be able to cope with a friend telling them they needed to slim down.
‘Although friendships should be based on trust, honesty and being truthful, we are also supposed to be kind to our friends, and this means being careful about crossing the line.’ She added: ‘There are none-hurtful ways and means of telling a friend they need to lose weight.
‘It might be easier to suggest joining exercise classes together and eating healthy meals together regularly instead.’
The survey revealed that a fifth of women have already been told by friends that they are too fat, and more than half of them quickly did something about it. But 29 per cent of women said that while they would try to take a friend’s advice, they would be hurt to find out their friend thought they were fat.
One in ten would be furious that their friend felt it was their place to comment on their body.
In fact, it is quite common for girlfriends to diet together for moral support, with 27 per cent of those polled having dieted with their best friend at some point during their friendship. This is a hint on one of the best ways to get your friend on the right track. Why not suggest “you” need to lose a few pounds and would like them to join you on a diet for their support?
When it comes to life partners, 84 per cent of women claim they wish their husband or boyfriend would give them an honest answer when asked ‘does my bum look big in this?’. Of course 99% of men know that to do so would end they’re life as they know it 
Two thirds believe their partner would have the guts to tell them if he thought they were getting a little fat, and 78 per cent claim they would definitely take advice from their partner if he thought they should diet.
But 27 per cent of girls have already been told by a boyfriend that they needed to shape up - and of these, one in ten dumped the man.
Dr David Haslam, chairman and clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘We can no longer afford to be polite about obesity as it is clearly a matter of health and not vanity.’
All of us must learn how to deliver the message in order to protect our relationships. That’s the key in getting people to see their challenges and dealing with them in a positive way
‘As the nation gets bigger it is becoming increasingly hard to gauge our own size and our perception of “the right size” is clearly stilted.’
Research info – DailyMail, UK
