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The causes and effects of obesity
Effects of media on body image
Effects of body shaming
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Recommended: The causes and effects of obesity
Have you ever stopped and thought about how often we are told to change our appearance? Body shaming is a haunting concept that surrounds us yet so many people tend to ignore that it is and has always been present in our lives. Our bodies are always on our minds, every single person in this world would like to change their body, to meet their standards of what they perceive ‘perfect’ to be, but we all display a falsified feeling of satisfaction. Feeling terrible about our bodies because of the constant pressure that is placed on us to fit a very unrealistic and artificial category of beauty is an unhealthy issue and can be resolved by focusing on embracing our own distinct characteristics while also learning to love not only ourselves but others …show more content…
Some argue that those who are obese won't accept that healthy food can be just as filling as unhealthy food. They try everything except going to the doctor, eating healthy food, sleeping well, and exercising, which there is no excuse for not doing any of these things. There are increased risks of health problems when one is only very slightly overweight and inflates as the excess weight increases. Madeleine Brindley, a known editor of the Western Mail newspaper points out the seriousness, “If we continue to gorge on high sugar and high-fat processed foods, experts predict that by 2020, one in three adults and girls, and one in five boys, will be obese.” (1) There have been campaigns that intend to inform others of the risks that come with obesity, and consequently, these events have been accused of promoting “fat shaming.” No individual deserves to feel so poorly about themselves that their health is at risk, but the surplus of disease risks due to being overweight is also very real. So how do we address this worldwide health issue without causing overweight to initiate body shaming or feelings of …show more content…
It would be splendid if the people of Congress were willing to help resolve the growing issue of body shaming. If Congress were to watch and review the marketing techniques used by those in beauty and health advertisements more closely, body shaming may come to an end in the near future. Also, if the individuals that makeup Congress were to write up or advise new nutritional laws for restaurants and grocery stores, there would be a tremendous decrease in fat shaming and body image problems. Body shaming has managed to affect millions of Americans while fueling our society with a never-ending battle. It is the time that this trend comes to an end and Congress becomes involved. How about we all come together and instead of comparing our bodies to our culture’s infeasible standards and made-up images, we focus on embracing our own distinct characteristics while also learning to love not only ourselves but others too. Instead of tearing ourselves or our peers down, let's be encouraging and build each other
We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.
It is natural for a society to be concerned for the future generations. With the rate of obesity growing in adults and children, many begin to see it as an issue that needs to be addressed. New reports show “ childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years” (cdc.gov). Overweight and obese are not actually the same. Overweight is defined as “having excess body weight for a particular height from fat,” and obesity is defined as “having excess body fat” (cdc.gov). With obesity comes the chance for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Both can be
In every magazine and on every page there is another source of depression, another reason to skip a meal or two or a reason to be self-conscious. In present society people are overly focused and determined on the perfect body that both the fashion and advertising industry portray and promote. Through diction, pictures and celebrities presented they are trying to convey a message to their viewers that is “suppose” to be used as a source of motivation and determination. The message they are truly conveying is self-conscious thoughts, depression, and the promotion of eating disorders. It is estimated that millions of people struggle with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem; concentrated on dissatisfaction with their body image (Ballaro). The advertisement and fashion industry are conveying a message that creates an internal battle for their viewers, though they should be creating a fire in their viewers that provides motivation to be healthier, take better care of themselves and a source of inspiration for style.
In order to take a sociological viewpoint into account when one examines obesity, first it is important to understand how obesity is recognized in current society. According to today’s news articles and magazines and advertisements and other mass media about health and healthy life, one can easily realize that a great number of people have an eagerness to be healthy. Also, one can assume through these mass media about health that everyone wants to be attractive, and they are even prone to transform their own behaviors to gain attractiveness. This is because most people live a life where social interaction is frequently required and must engage themselves into social interaction every day of their life. Therefore, based on these ideas and proofs throughout this mass media, obesity is regarded as one of the characteristics that is disgraceful and undesirable in society.
In a society similar to the one of the United States, individual’s body images are placed on a pedestal. Society is extremely powerful in the sense that it has the capability of creating or breaking a person’s own views of his or her self worth. The pressure can take over and make people conduct in unhealthy behavior till reaching the unrealistic views of “perfection.” In an article by Caroline Heldman, titled Out-of-Body Image, the author explains the significance of self-objectification and woman’s body image. Jennifer L. Derenne made a similar argument in her article titled, Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders. Multiple articles and books have been published on the issue in regards to getting people to have more positive views on themselves. Typically female have had a more difficult time when relating to body image and self worth. Society tends to put more pressure on women to live to achieve this high ideal. Body image will always be a concern as long as society puts the pressure on people; there are multiple pressures placed and theses pressures tend to leave an impact on people’s images of themselves.
Is obesity really a serious health concern or is the “epidemic” merely a result of highly fabricated, misleading ideas of politicians and the media? The article, Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic? By W. Wayt Gibbs featured in the May 23, 2005 edition of Scientific America, raises this question. Most health experts and average people believe that obesity is one of the most prevalent health concerns today, resulting in increased risk for other major health issues; such as; heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and the chance for early loss of life. However, other researchers are suggesting that the consequences of being overweight are being blown out of proportion. Naturally, they do acknowledge that obesity rates are increasing and being overweight can play a role in other health conditions.
The way a person see’s oneself and imagines what they look like is one’s body image. One can either have a positive or negative connotation regarding their own body appearance. A positive body image means that most of the time one is comfortable and satisfied about the way they appear. In a sense, that means they feel good about the way they see themselves in mirrors or pictures. Having a negative body image is a common struggle for individuals. This means they are unhappy with their physical appearance and constantly want to change something about him or herself. Negative body image leads to serious mental problems such as anorexia or bulimia. Not only do we have a personal view on our body image, but society also has an input. Society
Today, 78.1 million American adults and 12.5 million children are obese. Obesity in America is a unstoppable epidemic. Since the 1960s, the number of obese adults have doubled and the number of obese children have tripled. Because of America’s obesity problems, Surgeon General David Satcher issued a report saying; "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight," said that obesity "have reached epidemic proportions" in America. Obesity in America has no doubt reached epidemic proportions. Since 2001, America has been the most obese country in the world. This essay discusses what obesity is and how it is affecting today’s America by answers the following questions:
Within the last 30 years, the number of obese Americans has soared from 48% to 65%. To make things worse, the number of obese children has tripled from 5% to 15% (Wallis). The rising numbers should be cause for concern but seem to be doing the opposite, making obesity and its consequences more acceptable. Neglecting exercise and careless eating can lead to life-threatening conditions. People do not realize harmful effects obesity can have on their bodies.
Body image, according to Webster’s dictionary is a subjective picture of one’s own physical appearance established both by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others. Body image refers to people’s judgment about their own bodies and it is molded as people compare themselves to others. Since people are exposed to numerous media images, these media images become the foundation for some of these comparisons. When people’s judgment tell them that their bodies are subpar, they can suffer from low self-esteem, can become depressed or develop mental or eating disorders.
In this day and age, hundreds or thousands of women and men are having an ongoing battling against themselves to meet up to society 's standards on body image. Every day people are sacrificing their bodies to strive for the "perfect" figure that would make them feel like they belong in our society. Because of society 's pressure, it has given men and women the immense amount of pressure to achieve these unrealistic goals. Needless to say, women and men are grappling with their inner demons to reach their goal of having the ideal body. In today 's society, men and women both struggle with body issues by the profound impact of social media and a lack of self acceptance; however, it appears that men are struggling more due to having to shield
Mackler, Carolyn. Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image. Ed. Ophira Edut. Emeryville, CA: Seal, 2004. Print.
Society should consider the physical and emotional problems of obesity in our nation. “Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat (Mayo Clinic).” American society has become increasingly obese, “characterized by environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods, and physical inactivity (cdcinfo@cdc.gov).” Our nation increasingly has become consumers of a fast food diet. It is so simple to just pick up food on the go and not deal with the hassle of cooking and cleaning up afterwards. What are nation needs to acknowledge is the health risks they will obtain if they do not acquire a healthy life style.
For those who don 't know body shaming is simply judging someone solely on their bodies physical appearance. In a recent video provided by abc News it shows a group of women who discuss how they needed willpower to get through weight loss. They each give emotional responses about how they would go into fitting rooms and cry because something didn 't fit or how some women actually went through the trouble of having to buy an extra plane ticket because they were “too big” for one seat. The video continues on with them saying how when they started their weight loss journey many received criticism from social media and even loved ones. They made it a priority to live a healthier life not only for them but also to show others what they were capable of. I personally believe that because they continued to have willpower they proved everyone wrong by losing as much as 50-100 pounds. Body shaming is something that no one should have to go through especially if it gets to the point where someone loses confidence in themselves. But because of media the ideal woman that we see in magazines and on television are the 6’0 ft , slim built , thin, blonde hair blue eyed women. So it actually becomes easy for people to body shame someone because we have become conditioned to seeing this certain type of person when it comes down to seeing something different we
A girl scans the sidewalk while walking home after a day of school, hoping no one notices as she hides her face, feeling like an alien in her own skin. Instead of feeling beautiful, she feels hideous because of the words said to her. Body shaming, a term that is becoming an increasingly popular issue because humans are obsessed with appearances. This generation creates these standards and puts pressure on people to live up to and then ridicule those same standards when realizing that the standards are unattainable. Everybody criticizes the way that others look but then began shaming when people began to shame that one's personal appearance. People have separated been into categories based on looks. It’s fat against fit and it is becoming unhealthy. In today's society, body shaming is an ongoing issue. Body Shaming, though active in both genders, is especially harmful to women. Body shaming is pushing women to be insecure, eating disorders, and giving men unrealistic expectations.