Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, said in her speech on eating disorders: “I have it, on very good authority, that the perfection our society demands can leave an individual gasping for breath at every turn.” And she was right. With all the pressure today, one of the biggest obsessions is the obsession with weight. Everyone wants to look slim. Don’t you?
A fifth grader eats fries at lunch, and then is told by his friends he looks bloated. A teenager walks into a restaurant, and within ten minutes, has compared herself with every other woman in the room. Everyone knows the basic psychology: a girl starves herself or pukes up after meals, after which she feels – so much better about herself! That is, until she dies from any combination of malnutrition, dehydration, serious heart, liver or kidney damage. It’s not healthy – and it’s definitely not pretty. Would you believe that only 2 % of women in this world would describe themselves as beautiful?
From early-on children are taught by society that their looks matter. Think of the three year old who is continuously praised for being "oh so cute". The television spends countless hours telling us to lose weight and be thin and beautiful, all the while portraying overweight characters as typically lazy and "the bad guys". How can we tell our children that it's what's inside that counts, when the media continuously contradicts this message?
Aside from being harmful, this obsession with weight is totally pointless. What else do you call plastic surgery, stapling and drafting, and months of starvation for a body that doesn’t last for more than twenty five years – maximum – anyway? Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t care about your weight. I’m not even saying you shouldn’t try other methods like plastic surgery if it makes you feel better about yourself. Only before you do, ask yourself: do I really want this? Do “I” really want this? Don’t do something only because the world says so.
Let it be known that obsession with weight is a problem, not a fashion statement. Let it be known that in the case of this obsession, looks CAN kill!