Hair, breasts, waist, butt, legs, teeth, the list of problems and things that are wrong with people seems endless. On Oct. 20 National Love Your Body Day took place as a way to counter this problem.
Every day the American populace is bombarded with ads that have messages telling women and men that there is something wrong with them. They are told that their bodies are wrong and that they need to be fixed with diets, pills, and surgeries. Even popular clothing outlets like Urban Outfitters and online websites like perezhilton.com are selling pro anorexic and bulimic items such as shirts proudly telling people to “eat less.” I think it’s time that people start to consider what can and should be done for the next generation of students to find acceptance and love their bodies as they are and not become victims to deadly habits and procedures.
Why should it be a concern that people start to love their bodies? The dissatisfaction people have with their bodies is unhealthy. They are told that certain foods and behaviors are “bad.” They then avoid these foods to get a thinner, more acceptable body. Studies have reported that the most frequent mental illnesses are connected to eating disorders.
It does not just end at being thin. Other body parts like bust size are also found unacceptable. The website realself.com reported that 289,328 breast augmentation procedures had been done in the year 2009. Women want a bigger bust size like the women they see revered today like Kim Kardashian.
A common complication with breast and other plastic surgery is that some surgeons conducting them are not certified by the American Plastic Surgeon. Often times the doctor will go to a weekend seminar and learn on fruit how to perform these complicated procedures.
But going back to the point: hating the body one exists in is a problem that is not taken seriously enough. I struggle with loving myself every moment, because as a kid I saw everything out there that pointed toward value, came from being toned, thin, and “healthy.” The last term is the killer one right now.
The desire I had to be healthy led me to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which placed me in rehab twice. It led me to having weak nails, dry skin, weak bones, and a long list of other problems. Obesity is a problem, yes, to the heart, but it’s just as problematic on a person’s heart when they refuse to eat a variety of fats and other food groups.
With the epidemic of obesity, which seems to have blown up so quickly and suddenly everywhere, in the medical community, in popular culture, and other places, various groups focused on the need for people being healthy as a way to reduce the health risks of obesity. The show the “Biggest Loser” came out around this time in 2004.
This show depicted that the only way that these people could love themselves was if they lost weight. It never revealed any other aspects of their lives. Nowhere did it show that maybe by loving one’s body they could learn to find a middle ground where they eat until only they are full and no more.
On that note, wouldn’t it be great if there was a reality show or something out there that showed the harsh battle of trying to put weight on instead? The only show that has come out lately that has done this is on E! Channel. This is the same channel that has programing with content that resembles the horrific tabloids one sees when checking out with their food at their friendly neighborhood grocery stores. Oddly enough, it’s a show called “What’s Eating You?”
Maybe there does just need to be a balance out there. On campus last month a weight loss surgery was hosted. But the campus has yet to host an event giving the other side of the story. The Associated Students of Glendale Community College should host a workshop on self-esteem for women and men.
The health center should advertise its dietician services more. A dietician versus a nutritionist has gone through school and testing to obtain their label. The health center also should be placing information pamphlets on eating disorders in the lobby.
All these steps could help people find that middle ground needed to find acceptance and love for their bodies.