Ideal body image

[jack]

Finally, two too many people are on my friendslist compaining about other people's attempts to help weight loss made me think of this. Many people are overweight and need to do something about it, this is unarguable and not what I want to discuss.

But there's also the strange thing that the ideal image seems to be way too thin. It used to be the case that fat was seen as beautiful, because it meant you were rich and had enough to eat, whereas poor people weren't and didn't[1].

Will we experience a resurgence of this? Certainly probably the richest people tend to do office work and not have spare time, which isn't a recipe for staying in shape. On the other hand, I can think of a few reasons for the status quo:

* Maybe success correlates with self-control correlates with body image
* It's an overreaction to people being overweight. So much effort is put into losing weight people forget the goal is a healthy weight, and try to continue to lose weight afterwards.
* It's just self-perpetuating. Standards of beauty get reinforced because everyone tries to live up to them, so it takes a long time for anything else to take hold
* Maybe it's a complete myth. Maybe no-one actually does like looking at skeletally thin people at all, but fashion magazines are just print them anyway because they're really stupid or in a modern art rotting cow way .

[1] Or so I've always heard. I haven't looked for a historical cite to confirm that.

Comments

[karen2205]

two too many people are on my friendslist compaining about other people's attempts to help weight loss made me think of this.

I'm not sure I understand this sentence - people are complaining about other people attempting to help them loose weight? or people are complaining about other people attempting to lose weight?

If the former, I think they have a point. We're all entitled to determine what we do to our bodies, what gives anyone the moral right to attempt to help a competent adult lose weight unless that person has asked for help?

If the latter, the same thing applies IMO. If someone wants to lose weight for whatever reason (and they're not mentally ill) then what right does anyone else have to interefere? I think it's very sad that some people torture themselves about their weight and appearance, but it's not my place to intervene.

Many people are overweight and need to do something about it, this is unarguable and not what I want to discuss.

Actually, it is arguable. If we're talking in terms of health difficulties that occur more often in those with a BMI of over 30, then:
1. For those that smoke, stopping smoking is more important than losing weight to improving health
2. Losing weight too rapidly can be worse than staying overweight
3. Some people with high BMIs have a higher muscle:fat ratio than others eg. athletes/rowers and are not at risk of the consequences that come from a high BMI in someone with a normal muscle:fat ratio.
4. Losing weight and gaining it back again is worse than staying in the same place.
5. It's usually worse to be of normal BMI and unfit than have a high BMI whilst being very active.

In some respects it's an extension of this idea that overweight = necessarily unhealthy that leads to excess thinness = healthy = beauty and it's therefore important to understand that overweight does not necessarily = unhealthy.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I understand this sentence

Sorry, it went through too many or not enough iterations. I was thinking of Risa's family saying "she looked pregnant" when trying on a new dress (Risa is not fat! OK, I haven't seen her for ages, but she is gorgeous), and ewx linking to someone's new and stupid way to tax BMI.

Many people are overweight and need to do something about it, this is unarguable and not what I want to discuss.

Sorry. You're entirely right, I just know if I *didn't* say that *everyone* would say argue about it; I tried too hard to admit that point I accidently went too far, but I'm not good at talking about one thing without getting distracted by another thing.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

I assumed you were talking about me!

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Actually, I nearly said "And becky's post too, but that doesn't count because it was first said yesterday,"