Slim Is Not In

Many magazine photos portray people in the sense that the less they weigh, the sexier they are. Producers of television shows and commercials are even worse; they take pride in portraying what they think Americans should look like. It is very easy to understand why Americans today become exocentric when it comes to being physically fit. Studies from the American Bulimia and Anorexia Association of Philadelphia state that 1,000 women die of anorexia each year; the study also suggest that from the complications caused by anorexia and bulimia 30% of the sufferers will die as a result (Fun Facts). It is embedded in Americans that we are supposed to look a certain way. It is outrageous that the public has chosen this sort of goal for a society that is already worried about how they look. Despite what television and magazine producers and publishers think, beauty should be judged on physical health not physical appearance.

Media images of "physically fit" people in America today tell the watchers and readers of the shows and articles how men and women should look. Magazine articles and pictures often portray a bony look as being sexy, basically saying that clearly anorexic women and girls are divas of our time. While walking through a local Wal-Mart, I just happened to look over and see the magazine section. Right there in clear view was a very slender model on the front of a Sports Illustrated Magazine. The model, Marisa Miller, was portrayed as absolutely gorgeous, with an astounding body. Clearly shown was her ribs, and pelvic bones. The publishers were making it clear that slim is in with this issue. What makes the situation even worse is that even the teen magazine articles show young people that slim is sexy. On the cover of the February issue of Alloy Catalog, there is a teenager with a black halter top on, a pair of sunglasses, and a hat. She looks wonderful because she looks skinny however, The bones in her neck, arms, and ribs are clearly visible. She is so slender that she looks anorexic. Teenagers look to these magazines/catalogs with the hopes that they will look exactly like the models in the clothes that they are buying.

Television shows mainly show men and women who are slender rather than overweight. I conducted a study for one hour to see exactly how many men and women were lean rather than overweight. My results suggested that for each stout person, 29 slender people were shown within the same hour on two different shows, American Idol and Walker Texas Ranger. Many sitcoms, reality television shows, and even movies show more slender than overweight characters. That is just another way of showing what the beautiful man or woman should look like. Most actors and actresses always look beautiful or very handsome and physically fit. It is not very often that they would be shown any other way, simply because television is fictional. The shows on television try to impersonate real life in so many ways, but they have failed to realize that their portrayal of men and women is sadly mistaken. People do not always look their best, and the television's view of Americans today is completely off track.

Being physically fit is not about who is emaciated, or who is overweight; it is about being healthy, whether slender or hefty. Americans have twisted the idea of being physically fit into being emaciated. The public would like people to believe slender is in, but in reality men and women are presently broader than these models and actors. There are so many diets and diet supplements out there, but they will not make anyone physically fit. The diet supplements also have very harmful effects that go along with them, such as addiction, heart attack, headache, dizziness, and even death. Just because someone takes a pill does not mean that he or she is going to become miraculously skinny overnight. Americans want fast results, and that is what these ads promise. However, losing weight expeditiously can be dangerous. I took the infamous Stacker 2 diet supplements when they were first in the media. The hype was that they would make me lose weight rapidly without dieting and exercise. I did not have time for diet and exercise, so I decided to take my chances with the supplements. The pills did what they were supposed to do, and I lost weight. However the problem was that I lost sixty pounds in two months and found myself on a fast track to the hospital with symptoms of anorexia nervosa. I had no idea that I was on the brink of anorexia. I was not terribly slender, but the supplements had suppressed my appetite so much that I would go a week, or even two weeks, without eating. I did not realize that I was starving because I had no hunger. I was always energetic, but my body was slowly breaking down because of starvation. I finally realized that the energy that I had was from the ephedrine in the supplements and that my weight loss was very unhealthy. I lost sixty pounds, but subsequently gained all the weight back, along with gaining a few health conditions. Becoming physically fit does not happen overnight. A person would have to work hard to achieve a reasonable weight goal.

Being a certain weight does not guarantee that someone's life will be better. There is no ideal weight for anyone. Doctors have their charts, but not everyone has the average body. People are built differently and that is not a choice; it is something that we have to learn to live with despite being bombarded with all these so-called perfect images. Change does not occur overnight and certainly should not be rapid. There is nothing wrong with dieting, but people need to do it safely. The media tells people one thing, but beauty is on the inside, not on the outside.