We've all looked in a magazine and seen a very thin girl modeling the latest trends and probably thought to ourselves "Well that's just unhealthy." Anorexic and bulimic behaviors and other eating disorders run rampant through the modeling world and girls become as thin as they can to please agents to get cast in runway shows or to be in catalog photographs. Thin is promoted as sexy, happy, and the image of what every girl should be, which is what happens; girls are inspired to be what they view as perfection. It's all very unhealthy and can lead to serious consequences if they don't get help.
But the other side of being unhealthy is also being very overweight or obese. I thought we're all taught in school that having excess fat on the body can be detrimental to your health. We have to make healthy choices in our food and how often we do physical activity. If you've lived under a rock, you might not know about this "fat acceptance" movement, but it is a thriving and growing movement across the US and across the globe.
So from my own life, I know that having fat on your body is not a problem on its own, but having excessive amounts is simply unhealthy. This is stuff doctors will tell you and stuff we should understand personally either from our own experience with weight issues or with family members suffering. Disease is not beautiful. Obesity can kill and it is just the truth that some strong proponents of the "fat acceptance" movement choose to ignore. If you don't believe me, search this stuff on Youtube. It's actually sad. Many health issues are due to weight and amount of fat on your body and every doctor can back that up. Which comes to another part of this "fat acceptance" movement that is growing with the same ferocity as the original idea that fatness is beautiful. The HAES or Healthy At Every Size movement means exactly what it stands for. The basis of their belief is that you can't tell what someone's health is like just from looking at them, but that is most definitely not the case. No, we cannot tell you their exact diagnosis, but you can assume that they have weight-related illness. While they may not be diagnosed, being severely overweight or obese can lead to higher risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and cancer, among many other diseases and disorders.
So then why do so many believe that you can be healthy no matter your size?
Here's the answer: you can't be.
You just cannot be healthy at every size, paper thin or extremely fat. Being severely overweight is not a beautiful thing and causes so many complications and diagnoses, including premature death. America, and the world, has this problem. The problem is that we can't tell people when they're wrong or are doing themselves a disservice. Weight is becoming one of those things we can't say anything about, with these movements being evidence of this. I don't see how someone wouldn't want to be happy and healthy so they can live a long time and provide a beautiful life for themselves or their own families one day. People in this "fat acceptance" movement are simply seeking attention and making excuses for something that they can fix. They can make changes but just want society to change their viewpoints to cater to their needs, like in the HAES movement. I will never accept these movements or their beliefs they hold so strong to. Not all bodies are good bodies (my version of their recurring motif of "All bodies are good bodies.")
What has happened for people to believe that they can be totally healthy as an obese person? No doctor will tell you that it is possible. If they do, they are doing total harm and need to leave the profession. I doubt that any proponent of these movements goes to a doctor to regularly get checked out to defend that they are healthy, as they tell interviewers on tv shows (once again, visit Youtube and watch. Enjoy.)
To end this, I want you to reflect on this question: What does it mean to live a healthy lifestyle?
