Myths
and Facts on Size and Bodies
Myth: Barbie
and Ken are hot!
Fact: If
Barbie were a real woman-She would have to grow to be seven
feet tall. She would have a bust that was between 38-40 inches,
her waist 18-24 inches, her hips around 33-35 inches. Barbie's
weight would be 110 pounds. If she were a real woman-Barbie
would have to walk on all fours due to her proportions. If
Ken were a real man-he would be seven-feet, eight-inches
tall. An average man would have to add seven inches to his
chest and about eight inches to his neck to equal Ken's measurements.
Myth: Fat
people are ugly.*
Fact: Beauty
is a learned concept, and the cultural norm of beauty
changes over time. At the turn of the century, the leading
sex
symbol, Lillian Russell, weighed over 200 pounds. Marilyn
Monroe
would be considered "overweight" today. The media,
advertisers, and the diet industry tend to set the standard
of beauty
in today's society. We must remember that they are selling
us dissatisfaction with our bodies in order to make a
profit.
Myth: Fat
people are all at health risk.*
Fact: There
are both health risks and benefits associated with being
fat. Research seems to indicate that the healthiest weight
is a stable weight, even if a person weighs more than
average. The best way to maximize your health is to
adopt a healthy
lifestyle, which includes regular physical activity.
Myth: You
have to exercise a lot for it to do any good.*
Fact: There
are big health benefits in accumulating 30 minutes of moderate
activity on most days (ten minutes three times a day equals
30 minutes!). But any movement is better than no movement.
You could start with a five-minute walk today and build up
from there.
Myth: There's
no such thing as too much exercise.
Fact: Compulsive
exercising is a disorder and exercising too much can have
serious physical and emotional effects. Exercise becomes
a problem, or an addiction, when you prioritize it over most
other parts of your life. You may feel anxious, guilty, unattractive
or out of control when you are unable to exercise. You may
continue to exercise even when it poses a risk to your health.
Myth: Fat
people are fat because they are lazy.
Fact: Different
people have different bodies. Sure, there might be some lazy
fat people, but there are also plenty of lazy thin people.
All of our bodies have a different natural baseline size
and while food intake and exercise may contribute to changing
this some, there are also many other factors involved that
can't be controlled, such as metabolism, bone structure and
genetics. Just because someone is fat does not mean they
are anymore lazy than someone who is thinner.
Myth: I
will be able to tell if someone has an eating disorder.
Fact: There
are many types of eating disorders and they all manifest
themselves differently. Many people with eating disorders
are very good at hiding their eating and exercising habits.
A person can be fat, thin or anywhere in between and have
an eating disorder. Even if they do not meet the medical
criteria for size, weight or behavior of an eating disorder,
it does not mean that they do not need help. Eating disorders
get worse as they go on and it's even possible for the person
with the eating disorder to not know that there is a problem.
Myth: Eating
disorders are a woman's problem.
Fact: Eating
disorders affect many people regardless of sex, gender identity,
race, ethnicity, age, class or sexual orientation. All types
of eating disorders affect men as well as women, including
anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating, and over-exercise.
Due to the myth that eating disorders don't affect men, fewer
men who have eating disorders have actually been labeled
as such. Most figures say that about 10% of people with eating
disorders in the U.S. are men, though even this number may
be low.
Myth: All
fat people are compulsive overeaters.*
Fact: The
compulsive eater, whether fat or thin, is a person with an
eating disorder. Simply being fat does not indicate the presence
of an eating disorder. Studies which set out to prove that
fat people eat more than thin people concluded that there
is no measurable difference in the food consumption of fat
and thin people. Compulsive dieters, who ignore their body's
hunger messages, tend to become obsessed with food, and usually
overeat after a round of dieting.
Myth: I
want to look like a magazine model in real life.
Fact: You
may want to look like a model, but it's important to
understand that even models don't look like their pictures
in real
life. There are many tricks to "doctoring" pictures. Some techniques
include airbrushing, computer alterations, special lighting
to cast shadows in just the right places, or even black and
white photography, especially on "muscular" men so that the
definition of muscles is greater. All types of media trick
us into thinking that there are people who look far more "perfect" than
any person really ever does.
Myth: If
I hate my body, there is nothing I can do about it.
Fact: There
may be little you can do to change the body you have, but
there are many things you can do to change your way of thinking
about your body. To build your body-confidence, try new activities
and find things that your body is good at doing. For every
negative thought you have about your body come up with a
positive one to counter it. Try not to break your body down
into parts, but rather think of it as a whole, functional
unit. For more ways to improve your body-confidence check
out 15 Ways to Create a Body-Positive
World.
* Reprinted with permission from National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, www.naafa.org.
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