Men on the other hand, caring and sensitive souls that we are, are far more wary of breaking the dreaded news to partners but much more forthcoming with friends - even female ones.
A poll of more than 2,000 people, supported by the National Obesity Forum, found that while a third of men would feel squeamish about telling their women partners that yes their bum does look a teensy, teensy bit big in this (or anything else for that matter), a whopping ninety per cent of women will come right out with it and tell their male partners that they're overweight.
However, women's forthrightness changes when the overweight person is a close friend. Then, 23 per cent of women would find it hard to bring up the subject compared to only 8 per cent of men, the poll discovered.
Most of us are however worried about someone else's weight.
In fact, 59 per cent of those polled worried that a loved one's weight would make them more vulnerable to serious health problems. But 31 per cent felt such concern about hurting their partners' feelings or provoking a backlash that the subject became a no-go area.
'Suggesting to someone that they should consider losing a few pounds may not be a comfortable conversation to have,' said Professor David Haslam from the National Obesity Forum. ' ... but if someone close to you has a large waistline, discussing it with them now could help them avoid critical health risks later and could even save their life,'.
Does My Bum Look Big In This? Discuss
