2/13/2007

Do we have an obesity or anorexia epidemic?

When you turn on the TV, there's always either something about how Americans are too fat, or about how celebrities are too skinny. Which is it? An article from MSNBC/Newsweeks says that it's both.

While the travails of the thin and beautiful almost always make for good copy, we should remember that only about 1 percent of the American population is anorexic, while nearly two thirds of adults are overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So it's not as if skinny models have inspired an epidemic of slimness. In fact, the real danger may be that the contrast between the girls on the catwalks and the girls at the mall is creating an atmosphere ripe for binge dieting and the kind of unhealthy eating habits that ultimately result in weight gain, not loss.

Has anyone else noticed this, does this bother anyone else? Are we too fat or too skinny? Why can't we promote a healthy body image?

What drives me crazy is the fact that we can't call anyone "fat" anymore. It's not politically correct. When we stopped calling people fat, waistlines increased dramtically. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that everyone who has a few extra pounds should be called fat. I was called fat 15lbs ago... what does that make me? It's scary how many obese people there are, and how many people are happy at an unhealthy BMI.

I don't see myself as fat. I do see myself as someone with a little extra fat. When I look at my eating and exercise habits, I see why. I'm not perfectly happy with the way I look, but at the same time, I'm going to take drastic and unhealthy measures to loose weight.

We've lost the strive to be better, but some have gained the obesession with "perfection."

The Dove study found that just 2 percent of women and girls said they would describe themselves as beautiful, while two thirds said they avoided basic activities on days they felt unattractive. Those activities ranged from going to the beach or a party to showing up for work or school—even voicing an opinion.

No one is perfect, no one ever will be. Flaws are great, but not all flaws need to be there. Promoting good diet and exercise, along with good external care (hair, skin, face) will make everyone feel better. Why are we afraid of healthy people?

3 comments:

Katherine Grandstrand said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jonathan said...

This is an interesting question, and I'd go ahead and agree with you that we have an unhealthy view of health and body image. I don't think everyone should be the same weight, according to their height or age. That's absurd. What's important is that the stuff on the inside is working properly; both anorexia and obesity can affect our innards.

Americans tend to take things to extremes. We either starve ourselves to fit into a Gucci dress, or we give in to that consumer mentality--a desire to consume as much as possible.

Of course, compared to the rest of the world, we're all a bunch of chubbies, which makes sense if you consider we're consuming a great portion of the raw resources this planet affords us.

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