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Home > Forums > Teen Ink Forums > News & Issues > ----Fat-----

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ImaginedangerousThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. posted this thread...
Mar. 12 at 7:36 pm

Okay. So there are two almost universally agreed goals in society:
 
1. People (women especially) should have realistic body images to avoid low-self esteem and eating disorders. The media needs to stop its obsession with thinness.
 
2. Obesity is bad. Fat is practically a first-world epidemic and we need massive changes to get people healthier and lose weight.
 
Am I the only one who's noticed that these goals kind of conflict?
 
I saw an article today about a mother freaking out because her 7-year-old daughter wrote up a 'diyet' for herself. The comments on the article were divided- one point of view was about how sad it was that girls so young are being told they aren't pretty enough because they aren't skinny. The other was that the mother overreacted and we should be trying to encourage healthy kids.
 
Which side is right? Is there a battle between 'self-esteem' and 'less obesity', and if so which side deserves to win? Why? Discuss.

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WhoeverIAmThenIAmThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 12 at 8:54 pm

I think there's a happy medium with anything. So next time you go to McDonalds order the cheeseburger instead of the Big Mac.

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JunieSparrowThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 13 at 3:15 pm

I agree.  Fat =/= healthy =/= skin and bones anorexic.  The question really depends on whether or not the child is a reasonable weight, not about her self-image. 

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Sorla_the_Space_CowboyThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 13 at 6:15 pm

Why does society have a say in this again? As long as you're comfortable in your own skin, it doesn't matter if you weigh seventy pounds or two hundred seventy pounds. No one should ever feel self conscious about their looks, that's one thing that you can't control, and it has no influence on your life. Unless you let it influence you, and in that case, society would have won.

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Breece6This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 14 at 7:15 am

I agree that there's a happy medium. 
 
We should not overdo anything, but being healthy is an important part of life that should be treated as such.

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RarelyJadedThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 14 at 10:25 am

^ fist bump :P

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LilaRachaels replied...
Mar. 14 at 10:39 am

Eating disorders and obesity are both lifre-threatening conditions. And although some can see them as being conflicting, I think that ED's and obesity are very closely related. In fact, obesity can be caused by binge eating disorder, and binge eating disoder can be caused by society's obsession with thinness, and low self esteem. As you can see, these things are connected. I don't think there is a 'right side' to this issue. Obesity and eating disorders are associated together... and that's that. 

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