The Skinny on the Fatosphere

Last week in the NY Times, there appeared an article regarding the growth of blogs related to health and fitness (Yay!!), and more specifically on “blogs written by fat people- and it’s fine to use the word, they say”.  This new blogosphere culture is now being referred to as the “fatosphere”.

I am troubled by this article.  The theme that seems to underlie these blogs mentioned in the article is this idea that there is nothing wrong with being overweight.  In fact, people aren’t more overweight, it’s society’s sudden fascination with “thin” that is creating this imaginary world of overweight, and instead of addressing this fictitious problem of obesity, we need to focus on just being happy the way we are.

First, we are not more overweight as a society.  What?!  I’m in my twenties, and I remember only a couple of pudgy kids in my elementary school.  Driving by bus stops today, I am amazed at how many “pudgy” kids I see.  Are we then saying that the shift to fast food, the lack of exercise, the rise of video games is not contributing to this rise in child obesity?  Are our children overweight because we’ve somehow mutated genetic make-up and are creating a new class of kid that is born to be obese?  Interestingly enough, there are studies regarding genes that contribute to obesity.  However many researchers conclude that these genetic mutations or genetic predispositions are not recent occurences, that today’s environment and behavior play a role (to what extent is still being examined).

Also, I think there is a huge difference between being NOT thin and healthy and being overweight with high-blood pressure, diabetes, and/or heart disease.  I am 5 foot, and I have (gasp!) thighs and a caboose that exclude me from being _______ (insert name).  In fact, strict dieting (like starving) and exercise would minimize my waist to 20 inches before I shed an inch on my thighs.  Is it frustrating?  Absolutely!  I used to wish (sometimes still do) that I had bird legs instead of the ones I got, but I got bum genes from my farmer ancestors, and here I am! So I am in no way suggesting that genes don’t play a role in our body shapes, some shapes that are “designed” to be less petite than others. I just don’t want people to resign to their current state when they, in fact, are capable of change. I don’t want people to miss out on all of the amazing effects that a healthy lifestyle can offer because their efforts haven’t always been successful.

Forums that allow us to seek support and share our frustrations are great if our intent is to motivate and improve. We all could use a little more self-esteem boosting, a little more acceptance, a greater sense of empowerment. My hope is that folks who are less than satisfied with their body, will focus their efforts on being more healthy, not just thin and will challenge themselves to answer the question, “Am I as healthy as I can be?”