There are two things every girl wants: to have a flat stomach and to love her own body.
For many, being thin is equal to being attractive. But there is a growing movement that rejects this idea and encourages women to accept their bodies regardless of flaws.
This is a wonderful cause that promotes confidence in women and girls of all sizes, but loving your body is not just about accepting it. You must also keep it healthy.
Keep in mind, weight is not the same as attractiveness or even health.
As a society, we put far too much stock in the number that shows up on the scale. In the United States, 91 percent of women are unhappy with their bodies. Fifty-eight percent of college-age girls feel pressured to be a certain weight. Facebook, Twitter and especially Instagram are filled with accounts and articles geared toward different ways to lose weight.
On the other hand, there are some who go to the opposite extreme. There is a growing faction of “fat activism” that opposes any type of weight-loss routine pretty much on principle. It promotes the beauty of being overweight, but neglects the innumerable health risks of obesity.
The problem is that we treat weight loss as a means to look better instead of feel better.
Obesity should not be an issue of how we look. It has much more important consequences, including heart disease, diabetes and even infertility in more extreme cases.
Overall, Americans are getting heavier. In 1960, the average woman was 5 feet, 3 inches, and weighed 140 pounds. As of 2010, she was 5 feet, 4 inches, and weighed 166 pounds, which is technically overweight according to BMI calculations.
It is essential that we re-evaluate our approach to weight and health. Skinnier is not the same as healthier, and being too thin can be as unhealthy as being too large. A woman who is 110 pounds but never exercises and constantly eats unhealthily is not going to be healthier than a woman who is 140 pounds, exercises regularly and eats well. There is no truly ideal weight.
Health is about how you feel physically, not the number on your scale. Body image expert Robyn Silverman recommends focusing on fitness goals, such as lowering cholesterol or training for a 5K, instead of weight loss if you want to be healthier.
Being healthy should make us feel great about ourselves, not lousy. There is nothing shameful in being a different size than another girl, whether smaller or larger. There is no reason to feel guilty for eating pizza when everyone around you is eating a salad, or vice-versa.
I do not have a flat stomach or a thigh gap. I love chocolate and pasta. I worry that my size seven butt is too big, while my roommate worries that her smaller butt is not big enough.
We all have insecurities about our bodies. But we have to remember that our weight is not our worth, and our health is not for other people’s benefit.