When I was a teenager, I was very conscious of my weight.  I thought I was fat so I dieted excessively, used laxatives, and binged/purged.  What I saw in the mirror wasn’t what I really looked like.  Studies have shown this often happens to folks with eating disorders. They -we -just don’t have a realistic picture of how we look. I chose the picture below because according to the T.V. show The Crown and other sources, Princess Diana was bulimic.  

My current interest in weight has come about because I have to take a new medication that has caused me to gain weight.  I went up a size which distorted my vision for somewhere I equated weight gain with being a bad person.  My therapist helped me see that gaining weight is just that and in my case, I don’t have any control over it.  In fact, there are plenty of people who can’t control their weight.

It is possible to be overweight and healthy.  I know a woman who is obese who is as active and energetic as anyone else. I don’t know why she is so heavy and frankly, it’s none of my business. There are many overweight people in my aerobic swim classes and they are healthy. Here is a quote from the web site Healthy Eating at Any Size. (HAES)

“We’ve lost the war on obesity. Fighting fat hasn’t made the fat go away. And being thinner, even if we knew how to successfully accomplish it, will not necessarily make us healthier or happier. The war on obesity has taken its toll.

Extensive “collateral damage” has resulted: Food and body preoccupation, self-hatred, eating disorders, discrimination, poor health, etc. Few of us are at peace with our bodies, whether because we’re fat or because we fear becoming fat.”

Our society must stop comparing one’s weight with being a good person.  It just isn’t true and there are lots of reasons for being overweight.  If the amount of medicine I am taking doesn’t work I will have to increase the dosage which means I will gain more weight. 

Buying new clothes has been an adventure. Most of the changing rooms are closed at stores and I can’t buy clothes without trying them on. Plus, I hate buying clothes.  I really, really hate it.  I ended up purchasing clothes online and sometimes buying the exact same shirt in three different colors!

This experience brought to mind how much our society is focused on weight.   According to the CDC, in 2017-2018 the obesity rate was 42.4% of the population with no difference between men and women.  That doesn’t even count the folks who are only a little over-weight.   I’m aware that obesity brings a whole lot of health issues like diabetes, health disease and high blood pressure but I believe our culture is too centered on weight.  

Somehow we’ve equated lower weight with being a healthy person inside and out.  It’s just not true. And it has been proven over and over again that diets don’t work.  It’s time for our society to face it’s preoccupation with weight once and for all.

I’m interested in your comments.  Are you sensitive about your weight?  Why?  Do you think our society is too focused on weight?  Leave your comments here or on Facebook.