Spring Break
The struggle for size acceptance
Sara Gwin
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Forum
Our culture's obsession with the thin ideal has created a society that has a fear of fat.
This fear has resulted in increasingly higher numbers of eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disturbances, while being an accomplice in the increase of other psychological disorders like depression, anxiety and body dysmorphic disorder.
A study by the Centers for Disease Control in 2006 found that 97 million Americans are classified as overweight or obese.
There is no doubt that size has been on the rise because of our fast food and convenience culture, but these classifications are based on the body mass index scale which is inherently flawed due to the fact that the scale does not differentiate based on sex, body frame or muscle mass.
Paul Ernsberger and Richard J. Koletsky of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine stated, "the direct medical hazards of obesity, although real, have been overstated… furthermore, weight cycling may cause much of the cardiovascular risk associated with obesity."
Weight cycling, commonly associated with "yo-yo dieting," is the fluctuation of weight over time due to various dieting or restrictive eating practices.
This repeated loss and gain increases the chance of death from heart disease. It also increases blood pressure, enlarges the heart, damages the kidneys, increases fat deposits in the waist and promotes further weight gain.
On average, half of American women are trying to lose weight, while one-third of men are trying to do the same - primarily through limiting caloric intake, not necessarily based on health and without moderate physical activity.
Self-help books promote dangerous restrictive practices, and with the fact that little research has been done on these books, it can be difficult for practitioners to make sound recommendations or for the average person to know the real consequences of the multitude of diets on the market today.
With $60 billion spent per year on diet pills and programs, it's no wonder an industry would suppress information to keep us unhappy with our bodies.
This fear has resulted in increasingly higher numbers of eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disturbances, while being an accomplice in the increase of other psychological disorders like depression, anxiety and body dysmorphic disorder.
A study by the Centers for Disease Control in 2006 found that 97 million Americans are classified as overweight or obese.
There is no doubt that size has been on the rise because of our fast food and convenience culture, but these classifications are based on the body mass index scale which is inherently flawed due to the fact that the scale does not differentiate based on sex, body frame or muscle mass.
Paul Ernsberger and Richard J. Koletsky of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine stated, "the direct medical hazards of obesity, although real, have been overstated… furthermore, weight cycling may cause much of the cardiovascular risk associated with obesity."
Weight cycling, commonly associated with "yo-yo dieting," is the fluctuation of weight over time due to various dieting or restrictive eating practices.
This repeated loss and gain increases the chance of death from heart disease. It also increases blood pressure, enlarges the heart, damages the kidneys, increases fat deposits in the waist and promotes further weight gain.
On average, half of American women are trying to lose weight, while one-third of men are trying to do the same - primarily through limiting caloric intake, not necessarily based on health and without moderate physical activity.
Self-help books promote dangerous restrictive practices, and with the fact that little research has been done on these books, it can be difficult for practitioners to make sound recommendations or for the average person to know the real consequences of the multitude of diets on the market today.
With $60 billion spent per year on diet pills and programs, it's no wonder an industry would suppress information to keep us unhappy with our bodies.
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