"Ideal Weight" For Americans Increasing, Study Shows

Image by Alan Cleaver on Flickr

The "ideal weight" Americans feel they should strive for has increased in the last two decades, a recent Gallup poll has shown -- with the average "ideal" cited as 165 pounds.

According to the poll, U.S. men claimed their ideal weight to 185 pounds, their actual weight being on average 196 pounds. This ideal weight goal is 14 pounds heavier than the "ideal" 20 years ago.