Yeah, and the sad thing is (as illustrated by several of the other comments here) weight isn't even primarily - let alone entirely - about *eating* (or fitness), let alone about emotional issues, compulsive eating, etc.
There have been all sorts of studies done indicating that eating habits (and exercise habits) are quite a small part of the determining factors in weight/size. There are medical conditions and disorders (discussed below) and there's just plain heredity.
I'm not saying this very well. What I'm /trying/ to say is that 'not being thin' is not necessarily pathological, according to a majority of the reputable research out there. There is a huge range of what can be a healthy, normal weight/size/shape for people. Unfortunately, in the past century especially, Americans (and, I suspect, many Europeans, but I don't really know) have become so invested in thinness as an aesthetic and moral issue that they're not prepared to accept that it might not be attainable and therefor these findings are ignored. They're not, by and large, from what I know, refuted - they're just disappeared.
It's sad. Women who are "too thin" are treated horribly by other women. And women and men who are "too fat" are treated terribly by the medical establishment, the media, well-meaning friends, families, acquaintances, strangers, and often themselves. Being fat is considered a sign of laziness, overindulgence, lack of willpower (again, also mentioned below), low self-esteem. It's gotten tied into class perceptions. And so often the best we seem to be able to say is, "Oh, it's not their/our fault--there's a medical disorder that's the reason I'm/they're/we're 'like this.'".... It's better to be excused than to be blamed, but the implication is that size NEEDS an excuse.
I was thinking about it when I got started on the replacement thyroid hormones. My very likeable (and very thin) doctor said laughingly, "Now, I don't think you should be expecting to become a size 5 overnight..." and I said, "Oh, no. Heck, size 5 would *not* be healthy for my body." And there was a little silence. I realized that my very intelligent, supportive, understanding doctor was not really sure that there was a size that would be 'too small,' except maybe down to size 0. But I remember when I was 13. I was active, I had started getting my figure maybe a year and a half before. I had that kind of thinness only younger adolescent girls have, the kind you know doesn't last, even though it's what our standards of beauty are based on. I was a size 14.
You'd have to fracture my pelvis and remove my ribs before I'd be a size five, no matter how much fat came off my body. That ain't healthy.
So--yeah. What you said, just - from my point of view - more so.
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Date: 2005-08-24 08:31 pm (UTC)There have been all sorts of studies done indicating that eating habits (and exercise habits) are quite a small part of the determining factors in weight/size. There are medical conditions and disorders (discussed below) and there's just plain heredity.
I'm not saying this very well. What I'm /trying/ to say is that 'not being thin' is not necessarily pathological, according to a majority of the reputable research out there. There is a huge range of what can be a healthy, normal weight/size/shape for people. Unfortunately, in the past century especially, Americans (and, I suspect, many Europeans, but I don't really know) have become so invested in thinness as an aesthetic and moral issue that they're not prepared to accept that it might not be attainable and therefor these findings are ignored. They're not, by and large, from what I know, refuted - they're just disappeared.
It's sad. Women who are "too thin" are treated horribly by other women. And women and men who are "too fat" are treated terribly by the medical establishment, the media, well-meaning friends, families, acquaintances, strangers, and often themselves. Being fat is considered a sign of laziness, overindulgence, lack of willpower (again, also mentioned below), low self-esteem. It's gotten tied into class perceptions. And so often the best we seem to be able to say is, "Oh, it's not their/our fault--there's a medical disorder that's the reason I'm/they're/we're 'like this.'".... It's better to be excused than to be blamed, but the implication is that size NEEDS an excuse.
I was thinking about it when I got started on the replacement thyroid hormones. My very likeable (and very thin) doctor said laughingly, "Now, I don't think you should be expecting to become a size 5 overnight..." and I said, "Oh, no. Heck, size 5 would *not* be healthy for my body." And there was a little silence. I realized that my very intelligent, supportive, understanding doctor was not really sure that there was a size that would be 'too small,' except maybe down to size 0. But I remember when I was 13. I was active, I had started getting my figure maybe a year and a half before. I had that kind of thinness only younger adolescent girls have, the kind you know doesn't last, even though it's what our standards of beauty are based on. I was a size 14.
You'd have to fracture my pelvis and remove my ribs before I'd be a size five, no matter how much fat came off my body. That ain't healthy.
So--yeah. What you said, just - from my point of view - more so.