I would like to say firstly that this is not an article about “beating the battle of the bulge.” There are plenty of magazines, book, and videos that provide solutions for losing weight. The bigger issue is how narrow minded these solutions are.
Sure, there are many diets out there and many programs that tailor a diet for your needs, but the industries that provide these programs rarely ask the fundament questions about fat. Even some doctors have fallen prey to using food as the scapegoat and thus push other issues to the wayside. It's not entirely the fault of dietitians or general practitioners, scientist don't have the answers to these question yet. But by not approaching the fat struggle with new eyes these questions may never be answered.
What are some of the things that are not being addressed when we think about fat? Let's begin by exploring how we treat fat right now.
There is a fat phobia in North America and I'm not just talking about the way we react to grossly overweight people, putting on even a few extra pounds will cause people to start treating you differently. This is largely due to the not so subtle messages the media sends. Models are still very thin; fashion designers make clothes with fine fabrics in smaller sizes. Even non-fashion companies have weight expectations.
I was once considering being an air hostess and searched for what it would take to get the job. The application and requirements seemed straightforward but then I read “must be normal weight,” some airlines went as far as giving measurements. I'm underweight so I wasn't concerned but then I thought these people are telling me that I wouldn't get the job if I was 50lb heavier, regardless of the fact that I met all the other requirements. I suddenly started looking at all the thin privileges I have:
- I can go anywhere without being stared at.
- People don't pretend not to see me.
- I can go to the beach or pool without feeling self conscious.
- People see me for me and not a layer of fat.
- I'm not expected to feel guilty when I order dessert.
- I'm not embarrassed to eat.
- I'm not the butt of people's jokes.
This went on for a page and I could of have kept going. Thin people know they have privileges but that's no excuse for the ever mounting prejudice we have against fat people.
With these prejudices comes myths like fat people are always eating and notions of how if they just stop eating all that junk, eat healthier, and exercise more we wouldn't have an epidemic on our hands. True, for some people this is all it takes. But then that puts all the emphasis on the individual, creating the idea that all one would need is a quick fix, diet pill, or meal replacement and everything should be fine.
But what about all the people who try those things and still “fail.” We can't offer the same remedies for one person that we would another. Everybody is different; this is what many people fail to understand. There are physical parameters, metabolic parameters, and psychological parameters that affect our body's relationship with food.
If the solution for everyone is just to eat less and exercise then why are there so many unsuccessful food warriors out there? Is it their genetics?
Why can some people eat all day and sit on the couch and never become obese, while others watch their intake, exercise and are still “above average.” Why can some people gorge themselves on french-fries and never see a pound, while others eat a few one day and see it the next?
If all humans are physically the same then why are some races generally lean, while others have an increasing population of obese people. Why is that some people's bodies tell them when they're full and others feel the need to feed themselves all the time.
These are just a few of the questions that are being under analyzed for the public. The more we shove them aside and play up food and sit ups the more we continue to disregard the struggles that overweight people have.
Adelaide is the publisher of smartsolutions-ezine.com. Her website provides advice on topics regarding health, money and personal development.
If you eat healthy food (in proper amounts) and exercise (and aren't lying about one or the other or both, which many binge eaters do) then you will be at your ideal weight.
Granted, some people are meant to be heavier than other or lighter than others, in the same way as some people have brown heair, soe have red hair, some have blonde hair, etc. This whole notion that all or most obese people have a "glandular" problem simply can not be true. Before the advent of convenience and "fast" foods (and the television), there were no where no where near the numbers of morbidly obese people. A simple search on the Internet will turn up many studies that support this. Plain and simple: if you eat a diet of hot-pockets and soda pop and watch TV rather than taking exercise or other physical activities you _will_ become a fat pig.
In my opinion, the epidemic of grossly obese people in the USA is largely caused by the uniquely US idea that more is always better and the glut of unhealthy convenience foods offered for sale in US supermarkets.
If people would eat locally grown fresh produce and meats, cooked at home from scratch and learn to enjoy the process of cooking as well as the taste of properly cooked foods then it would go a long way. Many convenience foods have refined sugars added for no good reason.
It is time that people too responsibility for not only their own health but their own lives.