Many people are aware of how they look, but social networks have significantly changed normal body image, and that is where space for so-called “body shaming” has been opened, considers Melania Cevo, a remarkable nutritionist.
Does weight determine a person’s health?
No; neither the body weight nor the physical appearance or size of a person can determine the state of health of it.
What are the myths around this topic?
The truth of this is that many factors determine whether a person is healthy and they are not related to weight, they are more related to biochemical parameters (cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar), biomarkers such as blood pressure, and heart rate, to name a few.
But weight does not determine whether someone is healthy or not; unless we include situations that are too extreme, such as very low steps or very high weight, for example, a man of 1.85 meters tall who weighs 45 kilograms, or a person who is 1.35 meters tall and weighs 200 kilograms. What happens is that the more people feel dissatisfied with their bodies, the more likely they are to spend money buying things to “correct” that weight.
In this regard, health has had a weight-centric shift, but this is more directed towards a marketing strategy than a true concern for health. If you want to worry about your health, you do not focus on your weight, you focus on living in a healthier way and harmony with your body.
What is behind “fatphobia”?
Obesity in people has been, for many years, used as a separation mechanism; even many people suffer from harassment for this condition. Obese or overweight people suffer from discrimination, where people who do not fit into the health pattern dictated by society or medicine are mistreated, judged, and reduced emotionally and even at work. They experience a social stigma that reduces their job opportunities and interpersonal relationships.
What impact do social media have on this?
Many people are aware of how they look, but social media has come to significantly change normal body image. And it is precisely there where a space has been opened for the so-called “body shaming”, or shame of the body, in the case of people who do not “meet” the social status.
Many comments on other people’s weight or bodies “in the name of public health,” assuming that those who are overweight or obese are not taking care of themselves. These comments come from misinformation, ignorance, ignorance, fanaticism, and discrimination.
The phobia towards people with obesity or overweight is a cruel form of discrimination that says that people with more weight are inferior physically, intellectually, morally, and in health.
How does this phobia affect overweight people?
This type of phobia greatly affects this group of people. For example, some proven facts regarding discrimination based on body weight: overweight women tend to be paid less, receive lower quality medical care, and stress can cause more illness than being overweight itself.
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