Chapter 10, Problem 1RA-P308

Summary Introduction

Introduction

Fat stigma is one example of how health professionals, organizations, and the media from many industrialized nations use negative connotations of size, body fat, weight, and beauty norms to identify an idealized body image. Women and young girls are particularly vulnerable as targets of the message that is it shameful and wrong to be overweight.

Explanation of Solution

Suggested response

When it comes to the issue of obesity, there are a number of ways society approaches the topic. Consider the medical health field, as one example. Some doctors focus on the negative health complications and possible diseases that are more prevent with the more body fat one has. Some examples of this might be a higher risk for diabetes or heart disease. Or, consider the prevalent messages from the media’s focus on youth, beauty, and thinness as virtues people need to strive for. These messages may cause negative impacts physically, mentally, and emotionally, especially for women and young girls, as they attempt to reach these high expectations. Alternate messages that include the realities of an industrialized food system filled with a high caloric and processed diet and our increased sedentary lifestyles, while also allowing for the varieties in body shapes, sizes, and structures that are widely different depending on your ethnicity or nationality, are all important factors in addressing this issue.