Dying to Be Thin (The Truth About Obesity, Part 4)

Tech Central Station ^ | July 22, 2003 | Sandy Szwarc

[Timesink]

Women and girls are bombarded with messages about thinness, ideals of beauty, and ways to lose weight. The average woman sees hundreds of commercials a week, and a Brigham and Women's Hospital study in 2000 found virtually all commercials aimed at girls and women focus on physical attractiveness. A series of studies of media in 1986 led by Brett Silverstein, Ph.D., found diet food advertisements targeting women outnumbered those to men by 63 to 1; and articles dealing with thin body images and diets appeared 96 times in women's magazines to every 8 times in men's.

[Darksheare]

AAaah.
Being too PC can get you slammed too.
That would be a waste as well.

[LizardQueen]

Humans are cruel, and it's akin to the behavior of chickens. If you aren't exactly like them, they peck you to death.

Very true, and I've used this very analogy myself. Its the same for extra-tall and extra-short people too. I've been 5'10" since I've been in about 7th grade and it sucked. Being tall is considered ok for a boy but not for a girl.

LQ

[djf]

Just to be fair, I think
"proof that obesity is genetic"
should read:
"proof that some obesity is genetic"

[Kieri]

Just to be fair, I think "proof that obesity is genetic" should read: "proof that some obesity is genetic"

I don't have a problem with that. I was overweight from birth. Those who have adult-onset obesity probably aren't troubled with those pesky genes!

[Darkchylde]

My best friend is 5'9" & I'm 5'1 & 1/2".
I was only 4'11 & 1/2" till late last year.
We actually get along really well & joke
about the height difference. I guess I'm lucky.

[Darksheare]

My step-daughter was very tall.
Probably she would have topped out at just under 6 foot.
She was 5 foot 9, and looked down on the top of my head.
Lucky for me, she was friends with me.

Her cousin is 6 foot something.
I come up to her chest.
It's disconcerting, and more than a little disheartening to be speaking with someone and your field of view is from their chin downwards.
Step-daugter constantly busted on me for being short, and her cousin thought it was great fun to make light of such things.

(They both said they'd trade with me if they had the chance. I don't see why, but then again, I don't exactly suffer from being too tall.)
Humans are conditioned to accept only exacting 'tolerances' in body size and shape.
I find it annoying, but even I fall into it at times. See above paragraphs!

[deziner]

I hear you guys. Growing up I was always underweight - asthma and allergies. I could eat whatever I wanted in large amounts and not gain a pound up until I turned 25. I was always accused of being anorexic and I longed to gain weight (in high school I was 5'8" and 108 pounds) I really wanted to be curvy. I got my wish though - I do have to watch what I eat now, but I'm 5'8" and fluctuate between 125 and 130 pounds. (However - the extra weight is not necessarily where I want it). But hey - are we ever happy with our bodies? Can we ever fit the "ideal." Probably not - and I think it is cruel to be bigoted against both people who are too thin and those who are obese. If I couldn't gain weight, I'm sure there are people who are having a heck of a time losing it.

[Darksheare]

Yes!
By God yes.
The way I put it is as a coin, there's two sides.
On my side of the coin is people who desperately want to be able to gain even 5 pounds.
On the flip side are those who'd give anything to be able to lose even 5 pounds.
Around the edge are those who mock both.

Makes me angry at times about those who mock.
But then again, I find I do it myself at times.
Like that girl that Scott Peterson had an affair with.
I said she was "Skinny anorexic heroin chick'.
(Maybe more than a little self depreicating too, but..)
Laci was way better than the other girl.
(Not to bring this up.)
But that's society's prejudice showing.

[djf]

I doubt if anyone here, including myself, would say that genetics plays no role in the weight mystery. It has been all but proven by studies of Native Americans in the southwest, who, during normal times, have only 2-3 months a year of abundance, mostly in suargo(sp) cactus. As a result, they really pack it on when food is available.

But the author still has me befuddled. Dieting doesn't work! she says. Then she says being more slender has no health benefits.

What is she trying to say? Is she trying to say "If you diet, and you are succesful in losing weight, then you will not be any better off."?
I flatly disagree with that. certainly, dieting doesn't work for many people, whether it's because of willpower, genetics, or the bogeyman they fail to lose weight. And certainly you can be ill if you are thin or fat, so being slender is no guarantee of being healthier.

But the averages argue against her. People who try to lose weight, and are successful, are, on average, healthier. To try to connect all the unrelated statements she's made and translate that into "Dieting doesn't work" is intellectual mumbo-jumbo.

[Mamzelle]

re: I buy much vintage clothing on eBay)))

I have a fondness for old Guess jeans, which I buy on ebay. And have you found a pair of candies, yet? (g)

[Xenalyte]

OMG . . . Candies!

I go even further back. Let's see if I can find a link to some of my recent purchases.

Like the angel-wing dress.

And the op-art dress.

[Steve Eisenberg]

Tommy Thompson, Bush's Secretary of HHS, claims that 80 percent of all illnesses are due to obesity and lack of excercise.

Yes, and I guess the other 20 per cent must be due to smoking. Thin non-smokers who live in rural areas live forever.

[grania]

I'm looking at alternatives.

This winter and spring in the northeast were a monster for my system...I'm a "hibernator" by heredity, and this wet, unsunny stretch was just too much.

Everyone's body is different, but this has worked for me. Beef jerky(!) is a great snack. It's high protein, next to no fat, and some brands stick to the basic ingredients. Plus, it takes forever to eat. When I overdo the exercise in the heat, I'll have a glass of milk with Metabolift powder. The other thing, I have oatmeal every morning...it gets into the system quickly, and has staying powder.

There still are 10 pounds that are being stubborn, but they always were.

[Steve Eisenberg]

People who try to lose weight, and are successful, are, on average, healthier.

Hi again djf. I'm hoping you have an at least slightly thick skin.

Responding to djf's comment, by this, I presume the claim is either than lives are lengthened or that total lifetime days ill are reduced. Just pointing to one or two diseases reduced in incidence doesn't count without seeing the total picture.

Even if there was convincing evidence for what djf claims, which I doubt, it still would not be an argument for dieting. The real question is whether dieters live longer and/or are ill less than non-dieters who start at the same age and weight. What would you think of a drug whose supporters say that it helps when it works, even though most of the time it makes you better for a while but sicker in the long term? Dieting is a medical treatment just like that.

[weikel]

No elven chain mail?

[Steve Eisenberg]

In case anyone is thinking of weight loss surgery, the following list from just one web site puts the lie to claims that the surgery kills just 1 in 500:

WLS Memorial Page

[Xenalyte]

Didn't I tell you? No more latex ears! (Woohoo!)

This season I'm portraying a noble Native American. My costume weighs upwards of 40 pounds. But fortunately, 'tis washable.

[weikel]

This season I'm portraying a noble Native American

Damn hippie Indian( unless you can operate a casino)?

[Xenalyte]

Yep, I am indeed a damn hippie Indian, and a reputed cannibal one at that. I'm not sure I can get away with operating a casino onsite, because what would I use for poker chips?

[Twinkie]

I won't ever look like a super model???