contradictions?

Question

don;t you find it odd that people are saying how models and media make people think they should be skinnier than normal and give people a bad image and cause eating problems. Yet Americans are reportedly getting bigger and obesity rates are going up. Why is this? Is it that Americans are getting fatter than normal because of lifestyle but feeling guilter than normal because of media? That doesn't make much sense to me. Or is it that some people are too thin, while others are overweight and there are less and less "normal" weight people? Somehow, I fail to understand how these two opposites exist to the extreme in society today.

Why was someone offended by my question? I was only asking why obesity was going up, but media encouraged overly (or should that be underly)skinny people. Its not like I called everyone fat, I did not. But all sorts of statistics about what I said have been thrown at the public. How can you be offended by that?

Answer 1

That's a good question.

The short answer:
The body of the average American and the body of an American model have two things in common: they are both the products of a country with great wealth, lots of time, and great access to resources. These are things that other, not-so-obese countries, do not have.

The long answer:
Standards of beauty are linked to culture, politics, and economy, and so, standards of physical beauty that Americans find attractive are not universal. General rule of thumb: if a group of people are largely economically disadvantaged, then the body fat that comes with wealth is seen as more attractive, but if a group of people has enough money and food to actually get fat then that group may enjoy a different idealized image of the body. This is true even within the U.S. - how many white supermodels have enough back to appear in a rap video aimed at a black audience?

Obesity is so prevalent in the US because of our wealth. In a world where famine - contrary to popular imagination - is caused by the effects of social problems, warfare, and political intrigue instead of "natural" conditions of scarcity, the wealth of the United States gives it the technologies needed to effectively use its own resources and superb access to other countries' food resources. The American diet is heavy on food items that are rich, dense, and nutritious. We love sugars and meats, two foods that are expensive in terms of economy or resource investments. Is it any coincidence that the wealthiest country in the world eats the foods that demand the most money and resource investments to produce?

(Stereo-)Typically, Indians and Africans, to name two large groups, find women more attractive if they have noticeable body fat. Take India. Indian sitcoms are full of women that would be considered chubby in the US. But, then you look at India's movie industry, Bollywood, which has always shared some of Hollywood's aesthetic notions, and you see more tall, slim women. But even these women tend to have curves and folds in their flesh.

So, the U.S. has the money to get fat, and does so. How does it come to regard tall and slim as beautiful?
Look at the bodies of our models. Flatly, women do not normally look like that. Women are not normally that tall, that muscular (or bony, depending on the era and taste), that big-breasted, or that made-up. To have a body like a model requires *a lot* of work, work that is made possible, again, by our wealth. A nutritious diet makes us tall; relatively short work days and lots of time off allow us plenty of leisure time to work on our bodies if we so please; medical advances allow for cosmetic surgery. In the U.S., our bodies, whether they are fat, "average", or even super-hot are products of our wealth.

Answer 2

i agree with u that this is a double standard type thing
but since the population is so great, maybe half of the people are ending up anorexic b/c of media and the other half are obese b/c of lackadaisical lifestyles

Answer 3

I dont know if people are really getting bigger and rates are going up. I think its just being studied more. And, its much more convenient now to eat unhealthy food. There's a burger king on every corner.

Answer 4

It isn`t odd, what is odd, is seeing very very thin people like `super-models` We were meant to have body fat and hair to keep us warm, and the fat was stored to feed our body when new food was not available to us. It is most unnatural for people to be thin.

Answer 5

Life is full of contradiction.