I read an interesting article on the internet a couple of days ago and it triggered a lot of thoughts that evolved into this blog :-). Here's a portion of the article:
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"In recent years, as the American population has become generally more overweight, brands from the luxury names to the mass retail chains have scaled down the size labels on their clothing.
"You may actually be a size 14 and, according to whatever particular store you're in, you come out a size 10 . . . it's definitely to make the consumer feel good."
Research shows that, when it comes to self-perception, the concept of "overweight" may be relative.
A working paper from a group led by Mary Burke, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Massachusetts, suggested that people's perceptions of overweight have shifted, and "normal" is now heavier than it used to be.
Although the BMI of the general population increased from the earlier survey period to the later one, the probability of people describing themselves as overweight decreased in the later survey, researchers found.
Although the study authors said this trend may reflect healthy body image campaigns, one physician nutrition specialist who was not involved in this research, said she doubts that positive messages had this much influence. Rather, it is the relative increase in weight of the general population that makes people with normal BMI feel more normal, she said.
On the flip side, feeling normal but being overweight may decrease a person's motivation to lose weight, Burke said.
As clothing size numbers scale down in an era when bodies are getting more overweight, portion sizes have been increasing, one researcher noted, adding that "photographs of fast food hamburgers from 50 years ago reveal that the serving size back then would seem like a 'joke portion,' now."
"The same thing has happened with our body sizes. We're perceiving them as totally normal," she said."
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What's interesting to me is that while clothing manufacturers may be working together to help the average overweight American feel better about themselves, Americans are getting more and more unhealthy. A report released last week stated that the obesity rate increased in 23 states last year and decreased in zero states.
People may fool themselves into thinking they're at a normal, healthy weight because the clothing manufacturers have manipulated sizes, or they may think they're OK because they look like everyone around them, but their bodies aren't being fooled.
The reality is that obesity is making us sick. It's shortening our lives, and if we do manage to live a normal lifespan as an overweight or obese person, we will live in a state of sickness, not wellness, and there will be a great cost to keep us going.
What we're doing here is counter-cultural - and that's a good thing! People are losing weight and getting healthy - TRULY healthy! I can't tell you how many people I know who have gotten off of medications because of this program - including my husband, my parents, and me! The miracles that are happening here have nothing to do with self or cultural delusion - this is the real deal :-).
Congratulations on being part of a revolution to get America healthy, one person at a time! And you know how you participate in this revolution, don't you? It's one day and one Take Shape for Life/Medifast meal at a time!
Go for it!
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