Why you don't have to lose weight

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Small clothes are not the key to happiness.

Leading up to summer, many advertising campaigns offer cosmetics, services, products and training aimed at shedding extra pounds, getting ready for the season and creating a beach body. And first of all, such marketing is aimed at women. The question is who needs to lose weight and why. It is likely not for you.

When the modern ideal of beauty appeared

Fashion is a very dynamic thing, and it extends not only to silhouettes in clothes, but also to the bodies themselves. What now seems beautiful to us was not always perceived as such. The Hellenic ideals of an athletic male body are still relevant, but the sculptures of even the most beautiful Venuses do not quite correspond to the current glossy standards: no thigh gap for you, not too thin waist, general softness of forms.

Throughout history, what is in short supply has always been valued, so stoutness has been much more often a symbol of elitism than thinness. Diet and weight loss first became popular in the 1920s. However, back in the 1950s, magazines advertised Diet Gain Weight Add Pounds 35 SWScan05329 weight gain supplements that were supposed to help girls show off curvy curvy figures on the beach.

At the end of the twentieth century, thin models came into fashion. The "heroin chic" of the 90s frankly praised skinny bodies and an overall unhealthy appearance. Over time, even models that meet the famous 90-60-90 standard began to seem not slender enough.

Today, there is a trend towards variety and body positivity in fashion, despite this, models of the 46th size still fall into the plus size category. And she implies that these women are overweight in comparison with the "put".

Who needs such ideals

There are billions in the fashion and beauty industry today. It is logical that large corporations care about increasing profits, and not about the psychological comfort and self-esteem of customers.

With the growth of the economy and the development of industry, more and more goods and services appear that need to be sold somehow.

Therefore, advertising over and over again uses the same effective move: first inflate or create a problem, and then offer a miraculous solution. And such a problem often turns out to be features of appearance. So cosmetic companies invented cellulite, forcing women to find it in the slightest skin irregularities. In some advertisements, models deliberately squeeze perfectly smooth skin to showcase the "orange peel" - the so-called hidden cellulite. Although, according to doctors, some amount of subcutaneous fat is completely normal.

In the world of affordable and inexpensive food, the status of thinness has become a great reason to promote products. At the same time, the main and, perhaps, the only proven way to reduce weight is proper nutrition and exercise. But it takes time and effort, so many people want to get a magic remedy that will help burn the hated fat at once.

Due to the general neurosis about weight, it is very profitable to sell weight loss products and procedures. And in the ranks of those who "need to lose weight", they write down everyone whose size is larger than S. And this despite the fact that, according to statistics, the weight of a Russian woman is on average 72.7 kg. In America, as shown by studies of medical centers, the average clothing size is 16-18 (Russian 54th).

Glossy looks and mannequins have little to do with what an ordinary woman looks like.

Is there overweight

One of the most common arguments in favor of losing weight is the health risk. However, can we judge by the appearance of a person about his health? In medicine, there is a common rule "no complaints - no diagnosis."If a person meets a personal and functional norm (that is, he can engage in all kinds of activities that he wants), there is no reason to declare him unhealthy.

Nevertheless, the diagnosis "obesity" is in the International Classification of Diseases (E66 in ICD 10, 5B60.0 and 5B60.1 in ICD 11). According to the WHO interpretation, preobesity begins at a body mass index (BMI) of 25, and obesity at 30.

There is evidence that weight gain is associated with the risk of malignant tumors and gastroesophageal reflux disease, in which stomach contents enter the esophagus. At the same time, some studies show that obesity of the first degree, like preobesity, is not associated in any way with higher mortality.

Calculation of body mass index alone is not enough to draw conclusions about health.

In addition, BMI does not take into account the ratio of fat to muscle in the body. To find extra pounds, you need a more comprehensive analysis. However, even with the same body fat percentage, two different people may look and feel differently. Shortness of breath, vascular and heart problems can be real causes of concern. In this case, it is better to see a doctor.

How to understand whether to lose weight or not

Losing weight is the same right as not doing it, since both involve the free disposal of a person with his body. What matters is not the numbers on the scales, but the clarity of motivation and understanding of the reasons for their actions.

Ask yourself a question: why do you want to lose weight and do you really want to?

If the desire to change something in your appearance is due to external factors - advertising, photos on Instagram, the opinion of strangers - think about it. Perhaps this is not about your true needs, but about imposed standards that cause anxiety. The feeling of insecurity will certainly not disappear along with the pounds and will force you to look for a new reason for dissatisfaction with yourself. When anxious experiences are especially intrusive, the help of a psychologist or psychotherapist may be required.

But if your motivation is to achieve harmony with your own body, then losing weight will really benefit. The main thing is that the solution comes from within. In this sense, weight loss can be body-positive, because "body-positive of a healthy person" is not at all the promotion of obesity, as many believe, but a friendly and attentive attitude towards the body, its needs and characteristics.

If you genuinely enjoy physical activity and feel better when you eat right, then incorporate these habits into your life. At the same time, some weight will definitely go away, but most of all you will be pleased with the process, not the result.

Where to look for a variety of examples of beauty

Do not put up with discomfort for the sake of other people's expectations, and even more so in order to enrich marketers. If you think your weight is normal, but for some reason are still looking at photoshopped pictures of “ideal” people who are completely different from you, try changing your optics.

Swap magazines for art albums and the calorie counter for an app. Body-positive brand campaigns are great, but not so revolutionary. The world started talking about diversity just a few years ago, but before that there were museums and art books for hundreds of years.

Danae, Titian

Venus Before the Mirror by Peter Paul Rubens

Seated Dancer in Pink Leotards, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Lady Godiva by John Collier

The Judgment of Paris, Ivo Zaliger

In the world art culture and in historical photographs, there are a lot of different examples. Gothic asthenic stoop, baroque forms, strong figures of Soviet athletes - all these are different facets of beauty. Contemplation of the diversity of human types of appearance does not allow one to get hung up on the ideals existing here and now and allows one to see in oneself and others the classic beauty of different times.