Fear of Fatness

As many of us are very aware of, our world seems to have become consumed by beauty and its unrealistic standards. This topic grabbed my attention when reading about the study done by Lee, Ho, and Hsu (1993) which found that the influences of anorexia nervosa and bulimia differ between cultures. In this study focused on the differences in influences between Hong Kong, and western cultures. It was found that patients in Hong Kong were more likely to report these illnesses due to a loss of appetite or being bloated. However, the main reasoning reported from patients of western cultures was found to be the fear of being fat.

My biggest assumption is that the reasoning behind the differences in influences, and the reason behind westerners having fear of being fat is because of media. The saddest part, is that I was not surprised by these facts whatsoever. If you take two minutes, and browse social media, you're already feeling guilty about the fries you had last week. There have been ridiculous fads such as the "thigh gap." People would do or try pretty much everything to achieve one, not knowing that in fact, it really depends on how you were born. There is so much pressure in our society to look perfect and strive to have the ideal body. We have to have smaller waists, bigger breasts, a big behind, but small thighs, big lips, and perfect hair... the list goes on. The standards we hold ourselves up to are so ridiculous, yet unstoppable. There isn't a day goes by where either my self, or someone close to me isn't criticizing ourselves because we aren't perfect. It is so sad to me, because in my lifetime I have known more people than I could count on both hands that have struggled with an eating disorder, and some who may not even have known it. Something has to change!