Redefining Beauty and Health

Some of the more impactful documentaries I have watched over the years have been in regards to the food industry and how it is setting up our populations for failure when it comes to eating a well balanced diet and losing weight. More and more children are being considered overweight and because of how we view health, these children are encouraged to go on strict diets and intense exercise regimes. Despite the best efforts of parents and doctors, children are not losing weight. The associations that come along with being fat is that people are lazy and have no self control. However, the fat children in the documentary Fed Up are far from lazy and lacking self control. They take it upon themselves to try and take the necessary steps to lose the weight, but simply cannot. The kids featured in the film needed to change their diets and do a bit more exercise in order to obtain the important nutrients and increase cardiovascular health, however, most got frustrated when their hard work did not pay off. They viewed themselves as failures even though the odds were completely against them.

The lack of weight loss of the kids featured in the film is no fault of their own.  More and more we are learning that this lack of weight loss and continued prevalence of obesity is a result of the amount of processed food and the deception by major food companies. By false advertising or requiring consumers to read labels very carefully and truly understand the advised daily values of each component on the nutritional label, food companies lure consumers into buying products that might say “Low Fat” but in fact contain more of the highly addictive substance that is resulting in weight gain; sugar. 

While our society tells us that thin is healthy and fat is unhealthy, Health At Every Size aims to dissolve this belief. Many people pose the argument that fat is directly related to health and being thin can be equally as harmful. Many people do not realized that anyone who does not eat a well balanced diet can be malnourished whether they are over or underweight. We need a better way to measure health aside from focusing on weight and the BMI system. Health needs to encompass mental health, physical health, diet, exercise and sleep patterns. With an increase in malnutrition, which can lead to obesity, I think the Health at Every Size program will be incredibly helpful in improving the health of our children without putting the focus on weight. However, this program also needs to be in combination with education of what foods are healthy and which are contributing to fat. Along with education, we must work to send the message that all bodies are beautiful regardless of size.

With a better understanding of how health can truly occur at all sizes and that to be thin is not indicative of health, we can use this to promote healthier beliefs when it comes to our body. The Adipositivity Project and the FullyBeauty Project are online photo campaigns that strive to “broaden definitions of physical beauty” in which fat women pose often without clothes in a way that they feel comfortable. This allows everyone to gain an appreciation for the many different body types. Because fat is seen as ugly and unhealthy, it does not appear in the media, which perpetuates the taboo. These women show that they are comfortable in their own bodies, so others should be too regardless of size. This can help change the way our society views the physicality of bodies and help promote health instead of size. This is a complicated issue because it incorporates what it means to be healthy and not just what people look like, and because of this I believe it is important to tackle the issue from all angles.

In order to steer away from weight as a sign of health and beauty, we need to put an emphasis on healthy eating to nourish our bodies and attempt to undo the work of food companies, which make it even harder to eat well. By teaching people to eat well, this will prevent any issues that may arise from a poor diet, which can go hand in hand with malnutrition. We need to focus on health holistically and work towards a goal of feeling better as opposed to weighing a certain amount. While focusing on leading healthy lives and enjoying the lives we are living, we can do as the Adipositivity Project and the FullBeauty Project are trying to do and expand our beauty ideals to encompass women of all shapes and sizes. By focusing on these three components, critiques of each cannot argue against the movement as a whole because it addresses health, redefining health, weight and redefining beauty in regards to weight.