Body image. Those two words alone are enough to make your eyes roll and your head hurt. In western society, specifically America, it seems that we have two standards; first, that if you're female, you need to be extra-super-thin and if you're male you need to be the bulked up perfect "V" shape; and second, that you are just fine the way you are no matter your gender, weight, or background. The second one sounds really normal and sane, doesn't it? Yes, at first glance. Heck, even the first one can sound perfectly fine to some people. The problem? Let me put it this way: how many situations, in reality, are so black and white as this? Is it really, starkly "Thin is good, fat is bad" or "You are whatever you are"? No. It isn't. Nothing is ever black and white, and this assumption – that one of these two extremes are right, is what is slowly killing Americans today. Now, most people are highly aware of anorexia, bulimia, and such eating disorders that cause extreme thinness. I do not mean to belittle those problems whatsoever, but it is another problem that needs more attention. It seems like there is a trend developing in America where people are accepting obesity as part of a person that doesn't need to be changed, rather than a deadly problem that needs to be addressed.
Now, those are some pretty strong words I've used, but let me explain. A person is not what they look like – in fact, that is the main emphasis of what Americans have been saying in this trend I speak of. A person isn't what they look like on the outside; it isn't what size pants they wear, or whether or not they can run ten miles at a stretch. A person is who they are inside, in their heart and mind. A person is not the fat they wear, or the diseases they might have because of that fat.
Excess fat on a person's body is deadly. It can cause heart disease, stroke, and diabetes – some of the culprits in the CDC's top ten killers list for the past few years. Obesity in America has risen exponentially in the past few years. Those that say genetics is to blame would have to deal with the statistics in that this has happened much too quickly for that, and the obesity rates correlate too strongly with things such as increased fast food consumption and decreased availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, not to mention a decrease in exercise of any form, an increase in time spent in front of digital media, and an increase in time spent in tiny cubicles hunched over computer keyboards eight hours a day.
Please understand that I am not saying that people who are at an unhealthy weight should be bullied and pushed and prodded into exercise and better eating. Some might think this is a solution, but I do not. I believe that the main problem with our society in this regard is that we have become so focused on accepting people no matter what their shape that we forget that they are mortal, and their shape has everything to do with how long and how well they live.
I love people, just people in general. It doesn't matter to me what a person looks like as far as me liking them goes. Every time I meet someone new, I am fascinated because I get to look at the world through a new point of view – theirs. But I also don't want to think about how, if the person is obese or at an unhealthy weight, they are going to very most likely have a poorer quality of life when they get older, and most likely a life complicated by debilitating disease. In fact, perhaps the people already are suffering from the affects of an overabundance of fat on the body. I want everyone to live a long and high quality life, to be the beautiful people that they are, and to be able to accomplish their dreams and goals without disease rearing its ugly head when it could be readily avoided.
Please don't misunderstand – I do not say that I want people to be stick-thin. That's just as bad. I am merely saying that, in America – and the world – we are dealing with an obesity epidemic that our society would love to ignore. But American society can't ignore it; it's making itself sick. As Americans, let's do what we can to make sure that everyone in America lives long, healthy, vibrant lives. Not by making it a social pariah to be at an unhealthy weight, but by making it socially acceptable to not eat fast food every day, removing the stigma that salads are "diet food", that broccoli is gross, and exercise is no fun.
