Re-Defining Heathy

In 1861 Lillian Russel was born. During her lifetime she not only became an actress and singer, but also became known as "one of the most beautiful women on the American stage" (obituary from the New York Times, 1922). During the time of her life when she was most famous she weighed two-hundred pounds and was beautiful because of her "curvaceous figure."

Yeah, two hundred pounds! And people loved her for it! How is it that a hundred years ago that was seen to be a healthy weight when now a healthy weight is half that at six foot two. Russel's weight was a sign of her health and she was not seen as obese. 

Are we not tired of wanting to look skinnier? Are we not tired comparing ourselves to others? Are we not tired of looking in the mirror and wanting to crawl back into bed?

Lie: If you are thin than you are healthy and "fit."

Truth: Being skinny does not mean you're healthy. People who are active and "overweight" may be healthier than those who are thin and sedentary.

Everything in the media - television shows, magazines, movies - they tell us it isn't okay to be a healthy weight, that we can never be happy with the way we look. It's like our society is pro-eating disorder.

You know, because it doesn't matter if you die young, as long as you die skinny! 

Kate Moss, British "anti-supermodel," was quoted in a fashion magazine, Women's Wear Daily. She said, "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." I'm pretty sure my chocolate bar tastes better than looking like a stick.

I came across this blog, Thinspiration. I scrolled through hundreds of pictures of anorexic girls, all ribs and hip bones and skeleton legs. Why is it that I couldn't help wanting to be as skinny as them? Dangerously skinny. 

I have drawn the conclusion that the way "skinny" is viewed in society today began in the nineteenth century. Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quatelet was a Belgian mathematician in the early eighteen hundreds. He graduated from the University of Ghent with a doctorate in mathematics and afterwards began to study "social sciences." A firm believer of statistics, Quatelet discovered the "Quatelet Index," better known as your body mass index (BMI).

To measure BMI you measure your height and weight. You divide your weight (in kilograms) by your height (in meters squared) and voila!, you now know your BMI.  

BMI is the statistic of how healthy you are. On the scale, if an adult has a BMI of over twenty five they are overweight, if your BMI is over thirty, you're obese, and if it's over forty, you are classified as extremely obese. (Notice the word "classified," like an animal.)

However, the BMI system is flawed. By standardizing weight and height you overlook bone structure, the  thickness of skin, and the obvious, whether the person you are categorizing as fat is male or female. Insurance companies began to use this in the nineteen hundreds as a way of deciding how healthy you are for their own selfish reasons and were able to collect more money from those who were "overweight." 

As of March 2011, scientists have begun to replace BMI with a system called body adiposity index (BAI). This new way of measuring relies on waist and hip measurements and takes into account whether the person is male or female and if they are of a different ethnicity. 

Instead of focusing so much on our appearances, let's put our time and effort into staying healthy. Don't put it off until tomorrow, start today! Put down that bag of potato chips, turn off the computer, and go outside. It's a beautiful day! Your time is now to feel beautiful.