It's true that there is an obesity problem in Australia. However, those who argue that “obesity is not a health issue” are wrong. A very small majority of fat people can blame a medical condition for their weight, and I would safely claim that for the majority of cases, the simple fact is that they eat too much (and of the wrong foods) and don’t exercise enough. Genes might cause them to pile on more weight more easily, but it can't carry all the blame and anyway – it’s your responsibility to adjust your lifestyle accordingly. As for the body mass index (BMI): I don’t even know what my BMI is, and I don’t really care. I’m happy with the shape I’m in and have a pretty good handle on the state of my health - I don’t need some number to tell me that. People who live and swear by it should probably understand that a test with such limited scope is going to be flawed in some way and should only be used as a very simple and quick guideline – one that is not entirely accurate. As a result, I am not surprised that people considered as overweight/obese according to the BMI are actually very healthy people. In my view: take what the BMI’s telling you on board, but don’t take it too seriously. This applies to all people, skinny or fat or in between.
The problem is that there is no clear-cut definition of 'fat' and to a lesser extent, skinny, and clearly the BMI is being used, probably not very accurately, to stick some kind of label and measurement on it. The ambiguity surrounding weight and health just makes the issue far more complex.
I could use myself as an example of the many contradictions that exist in these areas. I’m a tall size 12, but I wouldn’t say I’m crazily healthy: I don’t eat as well as I should and my alcohol intake isn’t exactly moderate. But I like to indulge and I don’t blame anyone else but myself for the consequences, and am happy to deal with them. I exercise quite a bit, but I could do more. While I am definitely ‘curvy’, genes have blessed me with a fast metabolism, probably the only reason I’m not as big as the side of a house right now. There are probably (much) fatter people out there who are healthier than me. People seem to see me as skinny, but I would be considered a plus-size model if I ever decided to go that way (yeah, fat chance). Confusing? Tell me about it. But the two main things here are that a) I am/feel healthy (well, except on Sundays) and b) I’m happy in my own skin. These are exactly the two most important things that we want women to have/feel. But the question is: how do we help them get there?
I can understand why fat women feel shunned and shamed by Haussegger’s comments, but I don’t think that was her intent. I don’t think we should promote images of obesity or poor health, but I also don’t think overweight women should be shoved out of the spotlight because they – in some people’s opinion – represent these things. Women of all body shapes, cultures and backgrounds should be portrayed in the media simply because that’s what our world is like - diverse - so shouldn’t our media reflect that?
Then there’s the argument “me being fat isn’t anyone else’s business”. No it’s not, but the media’s representation of women is our business. I don’t read Cosmopolitan, nor do I work in the fashion industry and I barely even watch TV – but I also acknowledge that some very impressionable minds do and what they show can have a strongly negative/positive impact. I really don’t think it helps when women are constantly condemning a stick-thin model on some catwalk somewhere (who a much smaller number of people would've seen if the media hadn't publicised it - see the irony?) or celebrating with over-exaggerated vigour a picture of a woman with a bit of extra meat around the belly and thigh on the catwalk or in a fashion shoot, crying “yes, finally, a real woman!” (Which as Helen Razer put it so well, “belittling the big”). And think how a naturally thin woman would feel being splashed all over the media and branded as “aneroxic”? Or how an overweight woman would feel about becoming the poster girl for other people's body image campaigns when it was not her intention for this to happen?
However, what does help are honest representations of women (i.e without excessive touch-ups and airbrushing) who are clearly happy with themselves, don’t feel the need to comply to a social norm, don’t feel the need to be objectified, and don’t constantly feel inadequate or obsess over their bodies to the point that it negatively impacts their lives. Whether they’re skinny or fat – who cares? If they’re happy, healthy and beautiful women, what’s the difference? It’s important to look and feel good, but not only skinny people can achieve that. We should be celebrating what woman have achieved, not what they look like - after all, it is that kind of behaviour that has been feeding the problem in the first place.
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