Lauren - University says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201010:44 am 

I don't think it's fair to say that celebrating a curvy woman is promoting unhealthy lifestyles. Especially when you consider the unhealthy lifestyles that so many stick-thin hollywood girls and models lead. Why does every conversation about plus size women have to turn into such a fight about health? It is not up to us to count calories for other people, but it is up to us to change the way overweight men and women are viewed. It makes me sad that trying to celebrate the curvy women inHollywood turned into such a girl fight.

Leah says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201010:56 am 

I think Gabourey is a great actress and she looks great when she's all dressed up. But that doesn't change the fact that she's unhealthy. It's wrong to say she's beautiful if it means overweight kids are going to hear that and think that her body is something to envy. We have an obesity epidemic in america and covering it up with words like curvy is going to change that.

Charlotte says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201011:03 am 

Well, it is an obvious double standard that it is more ok to be unhealthy if it involves eating less and getting thinner vs eating more/getting fatter. In all honesty I think a lot of it basically stems from the fact that in the media people generally don't want to look at and celebrate fat people, and the health issue is the easiest way to justify it.

On the other hand, the whole fat acceptance movement just fuels the fire. . It turns into an enormous catfight because some obese women try and claim they are perfectly healthy despite a 35-40 BMI, as though they are just some scientific anomaly. I do believe that some people are just genetically overweight, but people are not 400 lbs from genetics alone. Basically the issue is just so polarizing, and the idea of thin=pretty is so rooted into our society it will always turn into a catfight because in general, people tend to get really reactionary.

I also think its a little ridiculous that the line between fat and curvy has been so blurred. In my opinion, curvy basically refers to women with shapely hips/booty because they just tend carry more muscle than a stick-thin girl. Beyonce is a great example here, she has a healthy level of body weight but she carries more muscle than someone like megan fox. If someone's body shape is defined by giant rolls of fat, that's just fat, not curvy.

OK this was the most disorganized rant ever but hopefully some point comes across here.

Mindy says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201011:10 am 

I grew up as the super awkwardly skinny girl boasting about myself that I could eat 8 pieces of pizza and never gain a pound. Yes, I was late to hit puberty, but I also felt like I was gifted the most amazing metabolism ever. I was even able to somehow only gain 5 pounds in 2.5 years of college. So when I headed across the world for 4 months for a semester abroad I thought I could eat/drink whatever I desired. Wrong. I came back 14 pounds heavier, no joke. Everyone says it's impossible but I'm telling you all, its not. I naturally came home depressed and claiming to everyone I got "fat." My mother being the non critical person she is insisted on telling me 10 times a day that I looked "great." After working out daily for 2 weeks and eating as healthy as I possibly could, I still had only lost a pound. My mom looked me in the eye and said "Welcome to womanhood, we all end up with curves." So now at my new found weight of 124lbs. I may feel slightly larger, but my no means am I fat/obese. I guess these "new curves" will just be the ones that support the 4 children I plan to have.

Anna says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201012:20 pm 

I was one of the people commenting on the last post, and I stand by what I said. I never said a skinny girl is healthier, I said that obese women are UNhealthier. I made the point that I myself am curvy, and I resent being lumped in with women like Gabourey, who are obviously medically unfit. Women who aren't fit enough to live an active lifestyle are unhealthy no matter what, and if that applies to skinny women, that's fine. It's not that Gabourey isn't beautiful, it's that she's obese, and it frustrates me to fall under the same label as a woman who can't do half the things I do weekly- rock climb, run miles, etc. I weigh over 170 pounds, but I am not obese, I am fit, and it irritates me that considering myself healthier than someone like Gabourey gets me labeled "disappointing." Yes, it is irresponsible to appreciate Gabourey and Nikki and the others as beautiful for their curves- you shouldn't support a lifestyle that makes women unhealthy and more prone to disease and heart failure. On top of that, you shouldn't make women like me, who truly fit the term "curvy," feel worse about themselves by placing them in that same category- it's unfair, because I and others like me work hard for my figure. I don't believe anyone needs to be skinny or even "athletic," but they do need to be PHYSICALLY FIT, which includes being able to run a mile.

maria says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201011:52 am 

the difference between fat and curvy. curvy you can at least tell the difference between the back, the boobs, the butt. fat=you can't tell that difference and you see a law suit against mcdonald's because they died their third bite into a bigmac. when it's that bad you CAN'T celebrate positive body image and whatever happy nonsense because it's like watching the death throws of a suicide they're so close to gone! and it is even more sickeningly sad and morbid when those people are younger. example of curvy vs. slow suicide is queen latifa and that picture of that young girl used for this article. it's just sad. when you because that obese it's beyond an eating disorder, it's probably now compounded by other disorders brought on by the original eating problem. curviness used to be a sign of fertility but when it's the oompa loompa blueberry its more likely fertility will end with large amounts of birth complications even up to death. those ain't child bearing hips. if you try to promote morbid obesity as being simply curvy you are one sick puppy.

J.mi says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201012:02 pm 

It is irresponsible to appreciate obesity as beauty because it's unhealthy! Obesity is a condition that promotes life-threatening diseases, and just as society is concerned over extremely skinny girls who suffer from eating disorders (anorexia, etc.) because it's dangerous to their health, obesity should be something to be worried about — not celebrated. Curvy is so different from obese and "fat." Yes, everyone has their own personal definition of what is fat and what is skinny (my mom thinks Mariah Carey is fat while I think she is voluptuous), but I think when one crosses over from curvy/slightly overweight to unhealthy, that really shouldn't be considered "beautiful." What is unhealthy? In this case, I think BMI and lifestyle (nutrition and activity level) should be accounted for. And although BMI isn't the perfect answer, it is a good guideline of what should be considered healthy and what shouldn't.

Obese is not curvy. Curvy is Scarlett Johansson while obese is Nikki Blonsky. As a girl who isn't stick-thin (but wishes she was) but still works out almost every day and watches what she eats, I'm insulted to be grouped with Nikki. My BMI is still in the healthy range.

CC says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201012:29 pm 

I agree with everyone that is commenting on the line between fat and curvy. There is a point where being extremely overweight has nothing to do with your body/metabolism/genes and has everything to your lifestyle. I do believe that some people are just made bigger, but have you seen the biggest loser? Obviously they worked hard at it, and they ended up with healthier habits and lifestyles. Being curvy can still be healthy, but being obese is not and it makes me angry that society/magazines/blogs are starting to celebrate this with showing people like Gabourey instead of actual "curvy" women like Queen Latifah.

On the other hand, people do attack skinny as much as they attack fat. Many people label skinny girls as having eating disorders, which attacks the self esteem of those girls as much as it does the self esteem of a fat girl. And there are some levels of skinny that should also not be celebrated. Tori Spelling? Rachel Zoe?

L says:
Wed, 16th Jun 20101:08 pm 

this reminds of a commercial i saw for a new show called "huge". this show looks detrimental to the us obesity problem as it features clearly overweight/obese kids at a weight loss summer camp rejecting the need to change their lifestyles and embracing their bodies. for me, healthy is a bmi and body fat percentage matter, not necessarily a size one. a healthy body fat percentage falls between 15% and 25%, with 30% being too much fat (these are rough, but most charts will be similar to these numbers). super emaciated celebrities and the bigger "curvy" celebrities most likely fall out of this range and should not be seen as ideals for body image.

Ash says:
Wed, 16th Jun 20101:54 pm 

Personally, I don't think that society can judge a person's healthiness solely based on appearance. What we often forget is that our size and shape doesn't necessarily reflect our lifestyle. An overweight person may exercise routinely and rarely eat fast food while those who are underweight (who we often judge as having eating disorders) could eat large proportions of food daily. We simply don't know. Only we, as individuals, can determine as to whether or not we are healthy. If you feel healthy, fit and comfortable in your body then I don't think that anyone else has the right to make (often inaccurate) assumptions about you and your lifestyle.

beth says:
Wed, 16th Jun 20102:44 pm 

In my opinion, curvy means having more of an hourglass figure, rather than a stick figure… Gabourey isn't curvy, she's *FAT*

Sarah says:
Wed, 16th Jun 20107:38 pm 

Healthy is different for each and every individual. There is no standard when it comes to defining what is healthy, be it through weight, BMI, or individual behavior. Healthy means living your best life (not anyone elses) physically, mentally, and emotionally.

"Curvy" like "healthy" is another word to be interpreted differently by different people. When I think of curvy, I think of strong, bold, women who embrace their body and health, even at a size that society tells us is not okay. Unfortunately, "curvy" like "voluptuous" and "plus-sized" has become another euphemism for "fat". But while "fat" is just an adjective like "skinny," "beautiful," or "blue" for that matter, note how much negative energy is associated with "fat." In a recent poll, 60% of college women said they would give away three to five years of their live to achieve their goal weight. We are quick to judge and put down others for for being overweight, but are blind to a 40 billion dollar diet industry and the media that supports it that rob us of our ability to accept ourselves.

Bottom line: it isn't your job to judge others, even health wise. Your job is to work on being the best you, and realizing that everyones best is the same.

Chelsea Urquhart says:
Wed, 16th Jun 20109:14 pm 

i hate to be the one to play the genetic card, but I'm going to. There are some women who will never be skinny. It's just not in their genes. They could work their ass off, run for three hours a day, eat only salad and still only end up weighing 150-160 pounds. I don't think that's unhealthy or fat. What about the women on shows such as the Biggest Loser who start off at over 300 pounds, and their ending weight is 170? Are they still fat? My best friend's family are gentically bigger then mine. She works her ass off to be a size 10, and she is thrilled. She is a healthy, bigger girl. It is possible. She knows, however, that no matter how hard she tries, the only way that she could get into a single digit dress size would be for her to become an unhealthy eater. Whats the difference between being unhealthy by not eating or eating too much?

I believe that every woman is beautiful. I think Gaborey is stunning, regardless of her weight. I find it so ridiculous that people look at a woman and immidently assume that they live an unhealthy life style, simply by their size. You don't think girls like Gaborey and Nikkie Blonskey haven't read all this that people are saying? Both those girls are FAMOUS because of their size-Their break out roles both involved their character being a bigger girl.

If you wake up in the morning, get dressed, and go "I think i look great today!", then you probably do look great! It doesn't matter what size you are, every sized woman is beautiful!

Emily says:
Wed, 16th Jun 20109:46 pm 

My main comment for the moment is on nearly every commenter above saying something about BMIs. I realize that the BMI is what those in the medical profession use to determine obesity, but it's not always accurate. Since BMI only takes into account weight and height, someone who is very fit could have a high BMI just because they have a lot of muscle.

Lauren says:
Wed, 16th Jun 201010:33 pm 

Its generally better to err on the side of making Americans want to be skinny and accidentally giving them eating disorders (8 million in the U.S.), than to make them think obesity is ok (with almost 200 million overweight, and over 85 million medically obese). In addition, people are far less likely to die from an eating disorder than from any of the medical problems brought on by obesity.

N says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20102:34 am 

I agree wth almost everyone that has commented so far although i've noticed some people implying that to be curvy you have to have big breasts/hips and a skinny waist etc, and if you don't then you are fat. I find this an extremely insulting thing to say. My sister, for example, is what i'd call curvy. She eat really healthy, exercises a lot, but she's still not "that" definition of curvy. She has some extra weight around her waist-we all know thats the hardest to shift, but she's not unhealthy, and i know i would get really angry if someone suggested she was. My point is that somehow the definition of what sort of curvy is acceptable has become really narrow-minded. You can't just look at someone and say whether they are unhealthy or not because you have no idea if they are.

Oh i also want to say that having an eating disorder is NOT more healthy then being obese. You eat way too little your body starts eating its organs, eat way too much they can't function because of the extra fat surrounding them etc. Both are equally unhealthy

Anyways, those are my opinions for what they're worth

C says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20102:51 am 

I actually think being overweight is healthier than being underweight. If a person is overweight, it's true that there are some health issues connected to that. The same is the case, however, for being underweight, and that is something that people don't talk about enough. When a person is underweight, they break down tissue of their own bodies to stay alive. Their organs start failing. Their bones become brittle. Their immune system plummets. In other words, they're dying, ever so slowly. And at a more rapid pace than the overweight ones, might I add.

PS: I'm talking about overweight – not obese. And I also want to stress that I am talking about personal weight. If someone is naturally thin, but they're healthy, I don't consider them to be underweight. Same for the overweight.

Also: All shapes and sizes are fine, health is beauty!

Molly says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20104:30 am 

I think it was awesome how you incorporated all different size "curvy" bodies. It shows that with a little lip gloss girls at any size or shape can be beautiful. Kudos to you guys and all of these "Celebrating Our Flaws" posts! I hope you continue to post them because they truly are inspirational and when we see clones on TV day in and day out it's nice to remember that not everyone is perfect!

Tamara says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20105:18 am 

I think the "healthism" has to stop.

I do believe most super obese women like Sidibe and stick thin girls like the Olsen twins are unhealthy. If you really eat a super lot of food and weight 90 pounds after you've reached puberty, you should go to the doctor; he'll give you a hypercaloric but healthy diet (my sister got one at 17: she had to eat lots of nuts, olive oil, fatty fish and every kind of healthy fasts and healthy carbs she coud get). If you very few calories, work out and still weight 400 pounds, go to the doctor: he might find a hormonal dissorder or something like that. Falling in the middle are most of us, some of which are healthy and some which are unhealthy: in most cases one just can't tell.

What I find ridiculous is this: many people in the media do drugs, abuse alcohol and smoke. Many of them also get unhealthy amounts of plastic surgeries; so why doesn't anybody care about that, but jump in their chairs about and obese woman? A cocaine overdose will kill you much quicker, believe me; even a boobjob has some risks. The thing is, actresses, models and so have a right to make their own choices; and if you're worried about your children, don't let TV educate them! That's never a good choice anyway: TV is not only sizeist, but sexist, classist, racist and all that.

I think, like Charlotte says, people use the health excuse to justify sizism: if not, I want to see them bashing smoking fellows just like they bash Mo nique or Gabbourey.

Angeline says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20105:24 am 

C – I'm underweight but my bones are not brittle, I rarely am sick and have more levels of iron than any of my larger friends.

There are people who are naturally underweight- don't class us in the same category with those people who gym 24/7, starve themselves or binge. Look at Kenyan marathon runners- probably the healthiest people on Earth, thin as a stick.

Angeline says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20105:30 am 

Oh sorry C- I jumped the gun. I see you made the distinction between naturally underweight and those who are unhealthy. Even so, how can someone die ever so slowly but at a more rapid pace?

kaley says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20107:09 am 

okay…so gabourey is fat. i however do not know her personally and will not judge her lifestyle any further. As for the line between curvy and fat, its pretty simple. a curvy girl has a larger chest or hips (lady feautures), but does not necessarily carry extra chub on her. someone who is fat does carry some, but is not always an unhealthy person. BMI is also not a good judge of health. I'm really short, only 5 feet tall. I also have a large chest size that does not get smaller when i lose weight, its just my genes and they way im built. Therefore, my BMI is that of an overweight woman when i have abs and defined legs. While the number can be a good judgement, it can also make girls who dont have a typically portioned body feel self conscious.

kaley says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20107:13 am 

and you know what? i think curvy has become a euphemism for fat. unfortunately.

Dylan says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20109:03 am 

Lauren, the problem with making Americans want to be skinny is that we're told to want to be healthy. Sure, there are workout programs advertised, but those crazy pills with fake doctors promoting them and shakes made out of God knows what don't work. Even if you lose weight, you probably end of ballooning and feeling worse about yourself. It's not about being happy or healthy or feeling good about yourself, it's about being thing. I'm not promoting obesity or anything, but I don't think it's any better.

Shae says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20109:22 am 

Celebrating a woman on just her body is negative. Celebrate her for wearing cloths that fit her correctly is a complement but saying that person should be celebrated just for her body that is just sad. No matter stick, curvy, or just fat telling a person they are nothing more than their body is just rude.

Syd says:
Thu, 17th Jun 201011:00 am 

Because, frankly, Gaborey ISN'T curvy. Curvy is a shape, NOT A SIZE. I personally think she's a very beautiful woman even if she is overweight, but SHE. IS. NOT. CURVY. A woman can theoretically be curvy at 300 pounds, or at 80. I am a very thin girl, and I am CURVY. There's got to be a euphemism more accurate than curvy and less rude and shaming than 'fat.'

And of course these celebrations always backfire. Something apparently tells us that we can't be happy unless everyone else is miserable, and 'celebrating all bodies' should mean 'being nasty to everyone who doesn't look exactly like me.' I thought the Celebrating Flaws articles were fine, because they said 'these women are beautiful,' not 'since these women are beautiful, everyone else is hideous.' Previously on this site, another columnist couldn't for one second promote curvy bodies without saying things about how anyone who's skinny is 'disgusting' and 'needs a cheeseburger.' And that's not empowering. I'm all for self-esteem and loving yourself, but really, to love ourselves, do we REALLY need to be horrible to anyone who ISN'T ourself?

CC says:
Thu, 17th Jun 201012:12 pm 

With the other "celebrating our flaws" articles, they are celebrating natural things about women's bodies that make them unique; things like noses that are determined ENTIRELY by genetics. However, being obese is not genetic. Genes definitely play a part in a person's size, but I don't truly believe that someone without some kind of hormonal/metabolism disorder can reach Gabourey Sidibe's size with even a moderately healthy diet and somewhat active lifestyle. Celebrating "flaws" that people basically create for themselves is not something people can celebrate.

I'm definitely not saying that some girls aren't naturally bigger. Like "N" said about her sister, some girls are larger than others and still have healthy lifestyles. But there is still a huge difference between those girls and obese women.

Deanne says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20102:23 pm 

First of all, I am one to believe that everyone is made beautifully (I know, it sounds cheesy…), and therefore someone is not beautiful simply because of the way they look. It feels like, often times, society degrades our sense of beauty to appearances only, rather than our character, attitude, generosity, personality, etc… I sincerely hope this changes over time, or that people will be able to get to know people more before automatically judging them.

Second, even though people who are overweight or obese may be "rightfully" considered lazy, or whatever other adjectives are associated with it, there are situations where there is more than meets the eye. Many people do not know about binge eating disorder, which ultimately results in excessive weight gain, and can end up fatal. There are often reasons behind weight gain, and while it can be fixed with support and help, to say being obese is worse than scary skinny is simply not fair.

Finally, I just wanted to thank everyone else for their comments so far. To see that we form different opinions is refreshing to see, because it means we are not simply mindless zombies subject to whatever the media throws our way. We can make a difference, if only in a small way.

Hannah says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20105:09 pm 

My best friend was anorexic in high school because of people like most of you guys. She was always healthy, played basketball and did track. Ate healthy small meals. Yet she could never break 170 lbs or size 16 jeans. Her BMI labeled her as obese. What you guys don't understand is BMI only factors in weight and height, not muscle mass or bone density. But some how, unless you are a size 4, that must mean you are a heifer and sit on your ass all day. While most of the girls I new in high school who were size 4s and under DID sit on their asses all day. Ate whatever they wanted, faked notes to get out of PE, didn't want to ever break a sweat.

The guys would whisper "jenny craig" as my friend walked down the hall. The girls called her "jenny the walrus". They wouldn't let her on the cheer leading squad (even thought she was physically capable of all the moves), because they didn't think she would look good in a uniform. And she ended up in the hospital because of it. Because of stupid ignorant people.

Gabey is beautiful because of her glow, her smile. There is more to a person than body size.

And like someone said above… if you are going to tear people to pieces, and say they can't be beautiful, because of their unhealthy weight… does that mean that Katherine Heigl isn't beautiful (she smokes), or what about Lindsay Lohan (she's pretty much the epitome of bad health)? What about Kate Moss (she does drugs)? And I'm pretty sure the vast majority of models we see gracing the runway can't run a mile (according to another reviewer, that equals unhealthy).. none of my skinniest friends can.

So what about them?

All this unhealthy talk is just people disguising their disgust for over weight people.

Caitlin says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20106:16 pm 

The debate shouldn’t be about appearance or beauty, because that will always be subjective (eye of the beholder, anyone? cliches exist for a reason). It should be about health.

Health is what ultimately matters. Healthy is not subjective. Leading a healthy lifestyle should be embraced by all–and it should be understood that healthy can come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Is it irresponsible for a society to encourage “curvy” that is really a guise for “obese”? Yes. “Obese” is a medical term meaning that a hugely unhealthy percentage of your body is fat. It’s bad for your heart, joints, and pretty much everything else–it makes your body work harder to do the everyday things. But if “curvy” just means even though you eat well, exercise, and generally do your best to feel great but you still have an athlete’s thighs and a generous bone structure, who cares? The number on the label is ultimately insignificant if you feel great phsyically, which will in turn lead to better self-esteem and confidence. That’s real beauty–the confidence of knowing you don’t buy into the bullshit.

On the flip side, “curvy” as an excuse rather than a fact of life is where I think the label begins to be dangerous. One can’t eat greasy, fatty, and heavily processed foods exclusively and be ok with that because you’re “curvy”. Who the hell cares how it makes you look when more than anything it damages your health?? Again, even if you do your best to live in a healthy manner doesn’t mean you’re going to end up looking like Giselle– but it will mean a longer, healthier, and more fulfilled life (think of all the things you can do when you’re healthy versus when you have a slew of health problems!)

My mother has been obese ever since I was born, but last year she made the decision to have the lap-band surgery. Not because she wanted to get “skinny and pretty”, but because she was finally so miserable with the limitations and healty problems that come along with being obese. A flight of stairs would leave her breathless and the pressure on her joints was leading to chronic pain. Her obesity was caused by both a genetic predisposition, hypothyroidism (which slows your metabolism), having five children, as well as her lifestyle choices (cake for dinenr every night is not ok). Still, she made a choice to go against all of those things and be healthy. She has now lost 75 pounds, walks for an hour everyday, and even bought a bike to ride (for the first time since she was in her twenties). Is she super thin? No. But is she exponentially healthier in both body and mind? Absolutely! She has a passion for life that I have never seen in her! Is her nose still big? Yes. Is she still short? Yes. But is she more beautiful? Yes–not because she’s thinner, but because she’s proud of herself, living life to the fullest, and most importantly HEALTHY. She’s even planning a trip to Hawai’i, a lifelong dream.

Unhealthy behaviors that keep you thin are just as ugly as the ones that can make you obese. I can’t say it enough, we shouldn’t focus so much on physical beauty, because perception is everything.

We should spend our time and energy promoting healthy lifestyles and evolve our mindsets to a more inclusive definition of “beauty”-one that is based on the lives we lead, the way our bodies feel, and how we feel about ourselves…rather than how we feel about others.

Sherry says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20105:34 pm 

People are saying that BMIs are not accurate, but if it's around 40, then I seriously doubt it's because of muscle. If you're healthy, then your BMI will say you're healthy. If you're muscular, your BMI will NOT tell you that you're overweight.

And statistically, obesity is WAY more of an issue than eating disorders. 63% of American adults are either overweight or obese, while only 5% of women and 1% of men have eating disorders. While those people are important, too, it's time to look at this from a logical standpoint. Eating disorders are serious, but the numbers say the over-eating is way worse.

kirst says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20106:02 pm 

I see a lot of posts that are saying either overweight people are villains or there is zero problems with being overweight. Neither of these is the right approach. I think that the media pushes people to believe that anything over size 4 is gross, but of course, that is absolutely not true. However, being OVERweight is so much different than being CURVY. Curvy women can be extremely healthy and simply built differently or have any number of diseases (even food allergies can lead to weight gain). Curvy women are beautiful roll models. Overweight, obese women are not such good examples of physical wellness.

Many people need to get a grip on their diets and exercise, but the media needs to stop proclaiming size 00000 to be the best. Women can generally be categorized into one extreme or the other, I hope there will soon be a movement towards the middle ground.

grace says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20107:32 pm 

Hannah, I completely agree with you. And to add on… Being overweight or obese is unhealthy, yes, but what people forget is that unlike smoking or drugs or other things that lead to unhealthy lifestyles, we need food to survive. With enough willpower, a smoker can put down her pack of cigarettes and never smoke again. But its not like fat people can just put down the food and stop eating. You still have to eat. Food is way more addictive than smoking because you really can't stop. I think the hate on fat people needs to stop…have some compassion and find the beauty in others. It may be really easy for someone to lose weight and it can be a lifelong struggle for others, but that doesn't make the fat person a morally flawed person, just somebody struggling with an issue. And we ALL have issues, overweight or not.

gee says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20107:54 pm 

America Ferrera is a beautiful, curvy woman. She's a size 8.

Gaborey is a beautiful obese woman. Why does she have to be ugly just because she's fat?

And Kate Moss's entire career wouldn't have happened if we judged people who are unhealthy as ugly.

One last thing – according to my friends BMI she is "overweight" but according to the US Army, shes in excellent shape. Figure that one out! It's not all the number on the scale. Health is a lot of different factors.

Cassandra says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20108:11 pm 

I'm a size 6. I go to a priviledged high school in my city where most of my female classmates are size 0's. I work out twice a week with a personal trainer, and 3 times on my own. I eat very healthy (I'm a health food nut) and my BMI is in a good range for my height. However, I am described by most people as "curvy" because of my giant hips. I'm Italian; every female in my family has had them too. I know this shouldn't bother me, but everyone I know keeps telling me that I need to lose weight. My friends (who whine because they can't fit into jeans with a size 25 waistline) have gone so far as to say that no guy will ever find me attractive because of my size.

This I don't understand; I am healthy, I work out. I'm not even big at all when you consider things. I went to a friend's party in a different town last week and I was by far the slimmest girl there. Some people just have weird perceptions about what the perfect weight should be. There isn't really much we can do to change that, but we can learn to love our bodies despite whatever crazy standards other people may have.

Jenn says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20108:32 pm 

Okay. Apparently you guys are ready to pass judgment on everyone well let me let you in on something. I'm 24 years old, I weigh 236 pounds and am 5'7". I have actually only gotten about 300 calories for the past 3 years and haven't lost an ounce. My genetics refused to let me get below 180 and the less I ate the bigger I got. I finally had to face it that I have anorexia and it's because people like the majority of those on here believe that if you just work out "like the Biggest Loser" that you'll lose weight. They work out more than 6 hours a day and eat very little. How is that healthy? I would rather people leave others alone for their weight and just appreciate what's inside. I know of the other side as well because my husband is 5'10" and weighs 110 no matter what he does but he doesn't get criticized only me. I am so sick and tired of the "Why is he with THAT" look and the body checks that people do because they think they know better. And before you start saying anything about my health, I work out daily for 2 hours, I get only 1800 calories and all possible blood work is perfect so before you judge someone think about the kind of damage you're causing. I've had to deal with being told I'll never be anything or that if I just try harder or eat a salad I might be worth something but you know what? I couldn't be happier than I am now so if you can't see someone as beautiful because they're heavy then keep your mouth shut before you do damage.

Beth says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20109:16 pm 

Whew, so many heated comments.

Im naturaly thin. At one point I was a 00. I fight for my size 3. I have been trying to GAIN weight since I was 9. Do I want to be fat? No, but I do want curves.

Funny thing about curves is that you cant gaint them by gaining weight. Curves are natural. I've known girls who are size 2 and curvy, and size 20 and curvy. But its not just haveing big boobs and a big butt blah blah blah. Its about haveing those femimine assets that fit your body. My mom is a 32G but it doesnt make her curvy, it just makes her a woman with an ample bosom.

So, the line between curvy and fat is defined by your INDIVIDUAL ratio of boob to hips to butt. People are called fat instead of curvy when their body doesnt fit the proper ratios. Personally, being thin, I like girls who are more seasonably ripe but not unhealthy.

As posted previously, only you know if you're fat/ unhealthy. I know I cant run very well. I know women bigger than me can leave me in their dust. They're healthy.

Also, comparing these er…larger actresses(and outselves), most of whom were just normal women before they got discovered, to the catered to, primped, preened, fake professionally trained hollywood glamour squad isnt fair. Those women stay in shape because they have a fleet of people behind them.

Eric says:
Thu, 17th Jun 20109:36 pm 

Ok, let me put a fine point on this:

Does anyone here actually know who the BMI was created by or what it was for?

As a little news flash for everyone here, it was created by Adolphe Quetelet, a 19th century Belgian MATHEMATICIAN!

Yes, a mathematician made something that a lot of people take as gospel for health…something that was made for 19th century Belgians that wasn't even effective when it was made.

It was originally used for doctors to approximate the amount of body fat that a person had, however, it has been twisted recently by doctors to figure out who is healthy and who is not.

In fact, people that have coronary artery disease and normal BMI are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with coronary artery disease and classified as overweight or obese.

What everyone here needs to know is that everyone is a different body type. Not everyone is supposed to look the same. That's what makes us who we are. Genetics dictates if we are supposed to be skinny, curvy, pear-shaped, square, oblong, whatever…not some mathematician's formula that even failed for his own people.

C says:
Thu, 17th Jun 201011:46 pm 

@Angeline: What I meant was that unhealthy underweight people die faster than unhealthy overweight people, but it is still a very slow death. You literally waste away, and there's not much to be done about it apart from more nutrition. A lot of people in the overweight category don't experience any major health problems at all. Take note that – again – I am referring to overweight, not obese.

Sorry that I posted a confusing message, I hope this clears it up!

Tatiana says:
Fri, 18th Jun 20101:25 am 

I am naturally skinny, and I find it interesting that people who are heavier than me are praised when they loose weight, with no questions of how they lost it. Yet, when I loose only 5 pounds by cutting out unhealthy foods from my diet and stopping my habit of over eating, people immediately become "so worried about me" and assume that I've developed anorexia.

The pressure to be skinny is so great, but when you actually become skinny you are hated for it. No one can win.

damaris says:
Fri, 18th Jun 20107:30 pm 

I continue to be amazed at how incredibly mean women are to other women. Every time weight comes up in any sort of public form. I expect the crap from men, but does the mean girl never go away? Too fat. Too thin. No boobs. Fake boobs. You should eat like meeeeeeeeeee. There are enough studies that show that health is not always linked to weight. That the amount one eats or exercises is not always connected to weight.

And why is it always so much worse to be a fat woman than it is to be a fat man?

Tina Z says:
Sat, 19th Jun 20108:05 am 

I think overweight people and skinny people can be equally unhealthy. But the fact is, and forgive me for not citing the studies, most people that live longer are those that stay closer to their high school weights (read: skinnier people). If you define "healthy" as living longer, then yes, smaller people are healthier. But there is such a thing as too skinny, maybe somewhere around 15-18% body fat or less for women. So regardless of how much you work out, if you eat too much you will be heavier and thus on average not live as long. This is science, not perception. Don't try to kid yourself into thinking you will live a long healthy life if you're overweight. Odds are against you.

The word curvy has definitely become a euphemism for fat. I think Gisele is curvy. I am curvy. Regardless of how skinny I am, my silhouette is curvy. Someone who is overweight may not be curvy at all.

It's a little irresponsible to celebrate obesity. Again, it's science- the less you weight the better off you will be, to a certain point of course. I think we're looking for excuses for the fact that we eat a lot of shit. A lot more shit than we ever have in our history. And we let "big food" (corporations) peddle this shit to us in the grocery stores. We are no longer in control of our eating habits so we're throwing up our arms and saying, well, let's celebrate ourselves instead of facing this very dark truth!!!

Body fat percent is the best measure and though it is statistically close to BMI, BMI can be flawed. BMI is based on averages so like any average, there are outliers on either side of the curve. This is not an excuse for saying my BMI is 45 but I'm healthy!! Bullshit. It's not THAT far off the truth.

Jasmyn says:
Sat, 19th Jun 20109:33 am 

All I want to say is that beautiful DOES NOT have to equal healthy nor does it have to equal something to aspire to or envy. Gabourey is beautiful. She carries herself with confidence, she is secure with how she looks, and she doesn't let negativity get in the way of her success. Just because someone is labeled beautiful doesn't mean I have to want to LOOK like them. If I was back in my overweight years as a child and saw Gabourey being called beautiful, I would think that I can be beautiful too, inside and out, and not have to starve myself to be super skinny. And that's the beauty of it. Confidence at every size, skinny, average, curvy, or more-to-love, is beautiful. Basing things on health is stupid, in my opinion. Healthy is such a relative term, it's unreliable, and it only feeds this desire to be "skinny"! It's also keeping those who are not skinny down with low self-esteem, and that's unfair. Period. I'm not about to sit up here and be ashamed that I eat fast food and hate salads; what I am going to do is be happy, confident, and BEAUTIFUL.

I also don't understand this whole "celebrating obesity" debate. Has anyone stated, "We should celebrate obesity!" or are people just upset that beautiful can come in more than one package?

Eric says:
Sat, 19th Jun 20105:45 pm 

Tina Z, I really shouldn’t be responding to your post, just on principle alone, but I will.

You say that you haven’t cited the studies, yet you reference them. This is the first flaw in your argument. If you’re going to reference something, then at least give some cite to where it came from.

As far as your body fat statistic, what about the women that are bodybuilders, gymnasts, etc.? Are these women unhealthy because they have less body fat than your supposed 15-18%? By the way, for your reference, someone that is mostly sedentary with a normal BMI will be outlived by someone “Overweight” or “Obese” as classified by the BMI, but works out at least 30 minutes a day.

If you want to talk science, that’s the latest word from kinesthesiologists.

We are not celebrating obesity. We are trying to get closed-minded people to realize that all shapes of bodies are beautiful. You don’t have to be a certain size in order to be called beautiful. The problem is, like I said, closed-mindedness and the constant bombardment from the media. Whenever you see an advertisement, they usually show skinny women, which is not the “average” woman in America today.

Once again, I ask, where in science does it say that, up to a certain point, the less you weigh, the better off you’ll be? The only thing that science has is “links” to the diseases. There really have not been any full and complete studies done to see if obesity is a direct cause. The answer is you must have the genetic predisposition in order to get the disease.

BMI is not the “statistically best measure”. Body fat calipers or underwater weighing is the best measurement of body fat, since BMI does not include muscle or bone density.

Another question for you…if there is someone with a thyroid disorder, you can either become extremely skinny or balloon out. Are you saying that these people are out of control of their eating habits?

You can not lump everyone in that is different as far as that flawed test goes. There are simply way too many things to take into account to just say that eating habits are to blame and it seems that you’re one of the close-minded people that I referenced earlier, so please, do us all a favor. Read up on your sources so you can make an educated argument instead of just jumping on the dietician bandwagon.

To answer damaris’s question: The reason this happens is due to a horrific double standard present in today’s society. Proof of this is that men that are considered obese by the BMI are actually celebrated by the female population. Two main examples of this? George Clooney and Colin Farrell. I rest my case.

molly says:
Sat, 19th Jun 20105:41 pm 

There were too many posts for me to read them all, but I noticed a huge trend of ppl saying "BMI isnt everything, it only takes into account height and weight, it's not always a good representation"

Ok, some people are more muscular, and a higher BMI may be normal for their physique–WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE when we are talking about the clinically obese. And people were saying "some people could eat really great diets and exercise a lot, you don't know"

Unless you have an undiagnosed thyroid (or other medical problem), if you are eating healthily and exercising regularly, you are not going to be obese. You might not be a 4, true….but you are not going to be obese.

And I agree that that HUGE show is detrimental to children watching it–I certainly don't want kids to feel ashamed of their bodies, but I don't want them to think it's great to be huge and unhealthy. Nicki Blonsky is beautiful, talented, and none of that matters b/c she probably won't live past 45. But hey! she's beautiful, right?

Eric says:
Sat, 19th Jun 20106:55 pm 

Wow, Molly…just wow.

First of all, let me direct your attention to this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13…

Even if people might be, as you say, "clinically obese", it doesn't mean they aren't fit. Some of them may even be more fit than you are. Wouldn't that be a surprise?

Once again, I will reiterate. As far as the clinical studies go, most professional athletes and some male celebrities (the ones we seem to adore) are overweight or obese. Most of the guys that you see in gyms on a daily basis are probably overweight or obese.

How about teaching kids that being active and fit is what matters instead of how much that scale reads? How about teaching kids that they should be proud of the body they were given, no matter what it looks like? How about teaching kids to accept others, no matter what they look like?

Molly, you're the kind of girl that I would love meet in real life, just so I can show you how horrible of a person you really are. My wife is the one that posted earlier, under the name Jenn. It's women like you that make her feel like absolute crap. It's women like you that have her crying when she goes to the store by herself. It's women like you that deserve to have a real wake-up call.

I hope that you get what you deserve for all of your closemindedness and the horrific comment about Nikki Blonsky. I really hope that karma exists, because at the end of the day, I can rest well knowing that women like you, who have tormented my loving, caring, wonderful wife will finally get what's coming to them.

Nicole says:
Sun, 20th Jun 20106:11 am 

I think that we're trying to confuse two separate issues. Beauty does not mean health, and health does not mean beauty. I know some very healthy people who are not beautiful, and some very unhealthy people who are. For example, smokers are incredibly unhealthy (as we all know), yet you can't argue that all smokers are not beautiful – there are obviously beautiful smokers in the world. I think that it is entirely possible to think that someone who is overweight is beautiful, but not healthy. Beautiful and healthy are not synonyms and should not be treated as such. It is entirely possible, and laudable, to recognize an overweight woman's beauty while still believing that she is unhealthy.

And just for some people's information, it IS entirely possible to be very healthy and overweight. I am a black belt in karate who does 6-7 45 minute long karate classes a week as well as playing soccer for approximately 3-4 hours a week, and I eat a fairly normal diet (not all vegetables but certainly not all fast food either). I am considered overweight, but I can do hours of high intensity exercise – as proven by the black belt gradings I've endured, which are 3 days of 12 hours of non-stop exercise. Anyone who says that isn't pretty much the top end of active is insane.

Tamara says:
Sun, 20th Jun 20108:30 am 

For the record: someone talked about fat percentages and asked "what if you have less than 15%": if you are a woman, you might be in trouble. Fat is conected to strogens and fertility: that is why everybody gains an amount of fat at puberty, usually dropped a couple of years after withouth much effort. My trainer at the gym, who looked almost like a body buider and who could lift more than half her weight, was asked by the doctor to drop her highly proteic diet and her intense routine, because she didn't have enough fat in her body to get pregnant (and she was trying). I assume this could happen too to super skinny people.

molly says:
Sun, 20th Jun 20102:58 pm 

@Eric

All I got from that article you posted is this "Being overweight significantly increases the risk of a host of debilitating and often deadly health problems, including heart attacks, strokes, cancer and diabetes."

…and I don't under stand why you think that because I advocate healthy lifestyles, you think I'm the kind of person who would make fun of your wife, or anyone else? I certainly don't claim to have a perfect body.

Your wife obviously has a very unique situation, and I this article is not talking about people with those types of situations. We are talking here about (and I'll quote your article again) the fact that "two-thirds of Americans already overweight, including one-third who are officially obese."

For a very, VERY rare minority, being obese is normal. But most americans are just fat, and unhealthy. I don't think they should be stick thin! It's not about a number on a scale, its about eating healthily and getting exercise. And I'm not being cruel, its a really sad fact:

80% of type II diabetes related to obesity

70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity

42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals

30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity

26% of obese people having high blood pressure

and

"A study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that obesity-related problems claim 112,000 lives each year in the United States. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the risk of an early death goes up as weight increases. The NIH found even a 10- to 20-pound weight gain can increases the threat of premature death, especially in adults between the ages of 30 and 64."

People with a BMI index higher than 30 had a 50 percent to 100 percent greater risk of early mortality.

So, yeah….sorry, but I don't think dying prematurely is beautiful. So sue me.

Luxe says:
Sun, 20th Jun 20104:27 pm 

I think women should stop judging each other; it just causes a vicious cycle. We don't know how a fat or skinny woman leads her lifestyle, we don't know what she eats or if she exercises, we don't know how she feels about it. People need to shut the fuck up and help each other feel better about themselves. Like Thumper's dad said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." People can worry about their own health, not everyone else's.

If any skinny people need a self esteem boost because they're getting down from this "real women have curves" bullshit, I encourage you to visit my blog.

Tina Z says:
Mon, 21st Jun 20109:17 am 

Eric-

First of all, I said in my post that body fat percentage was the best measure. You attacked me for saying BMI was, even though that was not what I said. Get off your war path. BMI is a 2nd best measure that on average is correlated with body fat percentage, meaning that for MOST people BMI is as accurate as body fat percent. You can cite outliers all damn day but that doesn’t change the fact that for most people, BMI is a good enough measure and will be highly correlated with their body fat percent.

“As far as your body fat statistic, what about the women that are bodybuilders, gymnasts, etc.? Are these women unhealthy because they have less body fat than your supposed 15-18%?”

Yes, they usually don’t menstruate and often don’t ingest enough fat to absorb important nutrients from their food. This body fat percentage is not sustainable over the long haul. This is not news to them, either. Not sure why you’re picking on this comment.

“If you want to talk science, that’s the latest word from kinesthesiologists.”

Kinesiology is the study of movement (muscles, anatomy, etc). This is NOT the field conducting research on health effects of obesity. Start reading the International Journal of Obesity (http://www.nature.com/ijo/index.html) for scientific studies by phds and mds in biochemistry and other fields. A related journal called “Obesity” is another great place to start: http://www.nature.com/oby/factorfiction/index.html. These are good places to start finding REAL studies on obesity and health. For a recent mainstream article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/research/01obesity.html?scp=1&sq=weight%20and%20age&st=cse. Want more? Check the New England Journal of Medicine’s archives. This is not pseudo-science.

“Once again, I ask, where in science does it say that, up to a certain point, the less you weigh, the better off you’ll be? The only thing that science has is “links” to the diseases. There really have not been any full and complete studies done to see if obesity is a direct cause. The answer is you must have the genetic predisposition in order to get the disease.”

And being overweight, or higher exposure to fats, can turn on these genes. Read this for a quick and dirty explanation of the interaction effects : http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/how_genes_and_environment_collaborate_cause_disease. Genetics and environment are not separate. It’s like playing Russian roulette- being overweight CAN exacerbate your probability of developing genetically programmed fat and inflammation-related diseases. But not for everyone. You keep using outliers to discredit years of scientific knowledge and fail to understand that these studies are based on probabilities, not certainties. It’s like citing George Burns to say that smoking is not a threat to your health.

“Another question for you…if there is someone with a thyroid disorder, you can either become extremely skinny or balloon out. Are you saying that these people are out of control of their eating habits?”

No, but your body (and set of genes) doesn’t care how the extra weight got there. Fat is fat is fat, regardless of why it got on your body. You are just as much at risk for developing health problems if you’re weight is a result of hormonal imbalances or too much food. Which is why most doctors put people on hormonal therapy and teach them how to control their weights. I’m not suggesting this is easy either.

I actually agree with you that perception of overweight people needs to change and they kids should be taught to see everyone as equals. I’m more on your side than you think, really, I’m just not an apologist. I don’t think smokers are bad people and I’m anti-smoking. It’s the same thing. I don’t have to be pro-fat to accept everyone for who they are. I also don’t have to pretend that their health isn’t at risk.

sarasuperid says:
Mon, 21st Jun 20109:24 am 

Why should we judge people's beauty and worth as people and role models on their health and weight? If someone is a stellar actress, then their weight doesn't matter. Skinny or Curvy or Fat they are a beautiful good actress.

jerseygirl2013 says:
Mon, 21st Jun 20105:01 pm 

I think that too many unhealthy overweight girls use "being curvy" to validate their lifestyle. However, just because a girls is overweight doesn't mean she is unhealthy and vice versa. An unhealthy person is a simply that. Being big or skinny doesn't matter. To me, eating well and exercising is being healthy. If someone is still big afterwards then so be it. I just think that the point when you're weight starts affecting your health is when a person becomes too big or too small. Thats just how I think.

I just tired of over weight girls who are unhealthy including themselves in the curvy category. I think that is for girls who are naturally big and are healthy. If you are big and unhealthy and you complain about being that way then do something about it. But then again you can't really tell who is healthy and who isn't just by looking at them

jerseygirl1989 says:
Tue, 22nd Jun 20107:28 am 

I'm sorry, but actresses and performers like Monique are just plain fat. They are not "curvy", and I certainly resent them being called that because people are too worried about being rude to be honest about their bodies. I myself am curvy at 5'5" 135lbs. I refuse to be lumped into the same category as morbidly obese women because I'm not a stick figure. And to anyone who says you can't look at someone and tell if they're healthy or not, you actually have a pretty good idea by looking at these fat women that they are not healthy. Carrying around 20+ lbs of fat in no way is healthy.

Stephanie says:
Tue, 22nd Jun 20103:33 pm 

OK, let's face it…over 60% of the population (this may not be exactly right, so don't quote me on this) is overweight to a degree. unless you are blessed with a super fast metabolism, most people struggle with their weight….to an extent. being a size 2-4, for most of us takes an extraordinary amount of effort & sacrifices in order to be that size. so if the media wants to feature more girls who are around a size 8, 10, 12, i am all for it since they probably make more realistic role models for a lot of us.

that being said. there should be a line drawn somewhere. gabby sidibe, nikki blonsky-these girls are just plain unhealthy. unless you are a female body builder or something and you carry an insane amount of muscle-being 250 lbs or more as a woman is clearly a very large health risk and IMO, not attractive. as for gabby and nikki- they are both very talented, and i'm sure they're both great girls. this is not meant to be an attack on them personally, but i do think that both of these ladies need to do something about their weight for their own good, and anyone else at that size should probably do the same.

Stephanie says:
Tue, 22nd Jun 20103:44 pm 

one more thing…

since everyone is bringing up Gabby Sidibe- why is anyone getting the impression that she's some sort of body role model for girls?

she was picked to play "precious" – and for those of you who haven't seen the movie, her character grew up in a very unhealthy environment and became pregnant. a girl at a healthy size couldn't have played that part.

same with nikki blonsky-her character in hairspray was supposed to be a big girl.

there will always be girls in the media who are somewhat bigger as long as there are roles in movies and TV shows calling for girls who are a larger size than most.

Kathleen says:
Wed, 23rd Jun 201012:49 am 

Ok, in my opinion, I think everyone should just leave the curvy/fat/weight-in-general stuff alone. Arguing and back-lashing isn’t going to make it go away. Why does it even matter how big a person is? We are all human-beings. If a person is obese them leave them alone about it; it’s their life and their body not yours. If a person is rail-thin, again, leave them alone about it. Everyone has their opinion about weight and body size. Everyone sees things differently. Some people think having rolls is beautiful, while others think that having no fat whatsoever is beautiful. Personally, I think it depends on the person, not what stereotypical category they fit in.There are many big beautiful women out there.

Just because a person is overweight does not mean that they are more unhealthy than a skinny person. My best friend weighs less than a hundred pounds, but she eats enough food for three people per meal yet she stays stick-thin. I weigh over 200 pounds and I eat healthy and exercise. I am put into the overweight category because I have a huge booty, turkey thighs, and flabby arms which I inherited. I can lift weights and do every other exercise imaginable every day and I will always have those. That doesn’t make me unhealthy.

I think curvy has become a phrase for anyone who doesn’t look like a stick. If you have curves, no matter what size, you’re curvy. Does obese women have curves? Yes. So yes, they are curvy. I think there are different kinds of curvy. You have the Beyonce curvy and then you have the Nikki Blonsky curvy. They are both curvy, but for different reasons. There is not a true definition because, as I have said before, everyone has their own opinion and definition for it.

It is not irresponsible for society to call obese women beautiful. All of you people who think it is irresponsible, how would you feel if society started calling all anorexic-looking people “nasty”? You would get upset! Everyone is going around saying that obese people are going to die from heart disease and everything else (which you shouldn’t do anyways because your not God and probably not a doctor either), but not eating enough is just as unhealthy as eating too much. People die from anorexia just like they die from obesity. Calling obese people nasty and not beautiful isn’t going to make them healthy, it’s just going to cause them to eat more and make their self-esteem go down.

Being healthy, in my opinion, should be how a person feels about themselves. I don’t think society should determine if a person is healthy or unhealthy just by the shape of their body, it should be their choice. It is their body after all. Only they can tell how they feel, if they feel fit or sluggish. If they weigh 300 pounds and have 8 fat rolls, but they can run a mile without breaking a sweat and they want to call themselves healthy then I say by all means they should. If society would quit labeling people and let them label themselves according to how they feel, I believe we all would be happy and more confident about ourselves because we won’t be trying to reach that “perfect size”.

bookworm says:
Wed, 23rd Jun 201011:51 am 

For those of you who have asserted that calling an obese or morbidly obese woman beautiful is promoting obesity, I have a simple analogy for you. If you do in fact believe that obesity is a disease, and are not buying into the moral panic of fat = gluttony = sin, then affirmations of its female sufferers as beautiful must necessarily fall into the same category as similar affirmations of female amputees or mastectomy survivors. The statement "You are beautiful," when made to a woman of our society, (and this is a whole other dimension of wrong, but the roots of the idea of pretty woman = worthy, ugly woman = worthless are too huge to get into here) is an acknowledgment of her value and worth as a human being. Shame is not a viable motivator, and shaming someone for having a disease ("You have a cold? You reprehensible insanitary thing!") is the exact insanity you endorse by objecting to the humanization of obese women.

Erin S says:
Wed, 23rd Jun 20102:56 pm 

"Curvy," literally, is applied to shapes like lines and curved patterns, and was not originally meant to describe people. When you deviate from the basic definition of a word, the meaning will constantly change, and not one technically wrong (not the definition) meaning is more right than the other. People are obsessing over a magazine and yes, internet-manufactured idea of what "curvy" is. When they're all essentially wrong, none of them are right, so calling someone out for changing their own personal percieved definition of "curvy" is hypocritical.

And honestly, the whole "healthy" debate just reeks of people masking resentment with concern. Someone else's health is none of their business, and if they're happy the last thing that should matter is someone else's ill opinion.

Oh dear, those types of figures are being "celebrated?" the horror! Maybe some young overweight girl is being given a moment, just one, to feel good about herself in between the teasing and berating by the people around her. Yes, maybe she could benefit from losing some weight, but shaming her is no way to do it.

Erinn says:
Wed, 23rd Jun 20105:23 pm 

I am absolutely appalled by Lauren's comment.

If anyone believes an eating disorder is less harmful than obesity, clearly, they have not personally known someone with an eating disorder. During my freshman year of high school, a friend of mine confessed she had an eating disorder. Over the next eight months I watched her struggle. She was naturally curvy, so she never became rail-thin. But the psychological effect was disturbing. She began cutting herself and had to start attending a school for other "troubled" children. At the lowest point in her disease, she spent a week in a psych ward at a local hospital. She has recovered now, but still struggles everyday.

Still think eating disorders are perfectly OK in comparison to obesity?

I do not know how many other people on this site wrote a get-well letter to a friend in the psych ward. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if people naturally assumed this story was embellished. However, after watching my best friend deal with this, I cannot let a comment like Lauren's slide. I understand the majority of this discussion focuses on the issue of obesity, but eating disorders are just as dangerous.

Star says:
Wed, 23rd Jun 20107:53 pm 

@Jenn: If you come back and read these comments I just want to give you a hug and tell you that you are such an inspiration. I hate the way people want to judge others based on their looks. If you're "big" then they claim you should just eat a salad while if you're "skinny" they try to cram unhealthy fast food down your throat. I'm so glad that you shared your story and I'm sorry that some people don't have the brains to understand what you're saying. People come in all shapes and sizes, AND can still be healthy.

shay says:
Thu, 24th Jun 20106:28 pm 

To me beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and whether you are "skinny" or "fat" you should feel like you are not beautiful because a couple pricks say otherwise. It takes a lot to lose weight so stop bashing them.

Even if Gabourey Sidibe loses the weight she will still not be considered beautiful to the standards we hold so dear. Why you say. you know why.

Jennifer says:
Fri, 25th Jun 201011:27 am 

First of all, I'd like to say that I am 5'9 and NOT 'stick thin', but I'm not 'fat' either. I weigh 160, I have curves. I eat healthy, I work out when I have time, and – of course – I'm not ashamed to eat a peice of pizza once in awhile. ONE PIECE. And I think I look fine. I'm not fat, I'm curvy. And it's okay.

Second of all, I'd like to say that I work in an ice cream/doughnut shop. The people who are clearly obese (most of them bigger than Gabourey Sidibe) and ordering giant bowls of ice cream every day and 3 dozen doughnuts – these are the people I have a problem with. These are the people I do not want to be compared to. They're unhealthy, and they're not doing anything about it.

There IS a difference between curvy and fat – if you weigh over 220 pounds, you did not get that way without being unhealthy and not being active. THAT is what I have a problem with. That's what I don't want to be lumped together with.

Jennifer says:
Fri, 25th Jun 201011:30 am 

I'd also like to point out that Marilyn Monroe had curves, and she was considered one of the sexiest women in the world. She wasn't thin, but would anyone say she was fat? Nope.

michelle says:
Fri, 25th Jun 20105:36 pm 

curvy is when your big but still defined, and fat is when your just a blob and have rolls of fat on you.

Erin S says:
Fri, 25th Jun 20106:57 pm 

@Michelle

Where does it say this, exactly? "Curvy," when used to describe people, is not an idea set in stone. When using the basic meaning, it can be used to describe anyone. People are sticking so tightly to one definition when that definition doesn't exist. I could say that my hair is "wavy," then be contradicted by someone saying that in order to be wavy it has to curl a certain way, or be a certain texture. Curvy is just an approximation of shape, and can change from person to person. You have a defined idea of what "curvy" is, but someone else may think differently. I personally don't use it because it's not a real word when used to describe people. Women and men are all shaped so differently, and are big and small in so many ways and places, it's stupid to attempt to fit them into neat little boxes, no pun intended.

Lindsey says:
Sat, 26th Jun 20101:19 pm 

I cannot agree that someone who is overweight is more unhealthy than a skinny person.. I’m a bigger girl. I’m only 5’6″ and I’m well over 200lbs. My best friend of almost ten years is 5’8″ and, I want to say she weighs around 130lbs. In the whole span of our friendship we’ve had the same eating habits; anytime we’d go out to eat together we’d find ourselves ordering the same meals and even a trip to the grocery store would show how much our minds are alike. The only difference is when snack time rolls around I would eat on a piece of fruit or yogurt and she would grab the potato chips. And to be honest, I’ve always been more physically active than her. I used to play both basketball and softball and I even took Taekwondo back in elementary school.. the most physically activity she was involved in was Marching Band. Yet it seems she couldn’t gain a pound to save her life while I was trying to find room for all the extra baggage. I think that sometimes someone’s weight shouldn’t be the go-to when determining if someone’ is healthy or not. I think lifestyle should be looked at above all else.

Any girl with any extra weight is curvy. You may fight this, but it’s true. If the girl has a large chest, she’s curvy. If she’s got a stomach, she’s curvy. If she’s got wide hips, she’s curvy. If she’s got an ass, she’s curvy. Let me ask you.. Again, I weigh well over 200lbs, which would put me in the “fat” catergory.. but at the same time I have an hourglass figure. I’ve got quite a large chest, a smaller waist, and wide hips.. now wouldn’t that make me curvy? And when is it such a problem to be curvy AND fat? I’m a big girl and I’m damn proud of my body.

And it ISN’T wrong at all for anyone to tell a big girl she’s beautiful! Wasn’t it Marilyn Monroe that said, “every girl should be called pretty even if she isn’t?” I honestly think women are beautiful in general and EVERY girl, no matter who she is, deserves the chance to be told she is beautiful. Every single woman has something beautiful about them. Also, beautiful shouldn’t be solely based on appearance, either.. I know many girls who are pretty to look at but are absolute pieces of work. And I think bigger girls should be celebrated just as much as the waifs on the catwalk. While obesity is a problem in the United States, telling a bigger girl it’s okay for her to be bigger is only going to help her confidence in herself. Why does it matter to you what I weigh? Is it your problem? Does it bother you that much? I really feel like it’s a waste of time for someone, other than a medical professional, to criticise someone for their weight.

V says:
Sat, 26th Jun 201010:41 pm 

I agree with Lindsay. I'm 5 ft 7 and weigh 181 lbs. I am a vegetarian, I run daily except on Sundays, and I say no to junk food. I love hiking. I have a small stomach but I'm curvy everywhere else. I can't help it. My cousin is 120 lbs and she eats like crap. She's skinny but she's always sick. I'm "overweight" yet her BMI is normal. However, I am much more fit and healthier. People are quick to judge bigger people and automatically put them in the unhealthy category. What if everyone who was thin was automatically considered unhealthy? You just CAN'T TELL by looking at someone!

Lauren says:
Sun, 27th Jun 20108:29 am 

Curvy and OBESE are very different.

I'm 5'8" and 135 pounds. Normally someone my height and weight should be pretty slender. Not in my case. I'm a size eight because i have huge hips, a huge bust and a tiny waist. I was still a size 6 at 120 pounds! I hate it, but I can't change my body shape. I'm stuck with my genetics, I will never be a size 0 or even a 4. PLEASE stop saying fat people are curvy. That pisses me off. I used to weigh 180 and I worked hard to lose that weight. I was not curvy. I was fat and I admitted it. All you fatties out there need to admit you're fat too. And maybe do something about it before it causes you health problems and kills you. Being fat is like smoking…but for some reason, it's totally okay to publicly condemn someone for smoking. Like "hey, put out your cancer stick loser!" But when's it gonna be okay to be like "hey, put down your burger fatass!" Either way you're killing yourself. But i guess it doesn't matter because both are personal choices. I'm not trying to offend anyone, I'm just voicing my opinion. There's no reason to have an excuse for being unhealthy!

Jenn says:
Tue, 29th Jun 20101:22 pm 

@Star, that makes me feel really good to see that I inspire someone. I hope that others can learn from me as well.

@Lauren, you need to get help from the sounds of it. I'm not saying that to be mean but if you have larger breasts and bust and you're 5'8" and weigh only 135, you are really underweight. You may not be "stick thin" but you can be too thin for your shape and that will also cause health issues. While I have you attention, what makes you think people don't do that already? I've been told I'm a fatass and should put down the burger all my life. Do you really think that having an eating disorder is better? Just because you think that you're fat when you're actually healthy doesn't mean the rest of us should feel that way.

Jenn says:
Tue, 29th Jun 20101:28 pm 

I thought I proof-read, I meant "Breasts and butt"

Nate says:
Sun, 11th Jul 20108:37 am 

It's NOT about SIZE (BMI), it's about SHAPE (WHR)!

BMI is personal preference, not a male universal criterion.

WHR, aka Waist Hip Ratio, is where a woman either has it or she doesn't, THAT IS a male universal criterion. Her weight and height do not changer her WHR. Where her body stores the fat she has, does matter. It matters a lot. "Small" waist/"flat" stomach and wide hips/round butt, is an immediately visible sign of a high level of estrogen, which give her more feminine features and makes her more attractive. This shows that she is genetically healthy because her body makes, absorbs, and uses more of the female hormones that affect physical features. Males are biologically/physiologically/psychologically programmed to look for this. The ratio seen as attractive is .7, anything lower is seen as highly attractive.

For example;

Catherine Zeta Jones; .828

Queen Latifah and Jessica Simpson; .8

Penelope Cruz; .77

America Ferrera; .769

Kate Winslet; .763

Mariah Carey and Katherine Heigl; .722

Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes; .694

Twiggy and Megan Fox; .6875

Elizabeth Hurley; .676

Jennifer Lopez; .675

Jennifer Love Hewitt; .6578

Salma Hayek; .667

Kim Kardashian and Beyonce; .65

Shakira; .648

Laura Dore; .525

Waist and hip measurements found via chickipedia.com

Ethnicity does affect how the WHR is viewed by men, because of the genetic variance of how body fat is stored in different women. It can be viewed as; frontal ratio ("small" waist and wide hips), side ("flat" stomach and large round butt), or diagonal (some combination in between).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist_Hip_Ratio#Meas…

http://store.discovery.com/detail.php?p=86831

Abby says:
Mon, 12th Jul 20104:31 pm 

I wish people would focus more on her acting skills than her weight. She gave a great performance in Precious.

Kelly says:
Tue, 13th Jul 20103:07 am 

One thing i notica as i read these comments is that people-no matter what they say during their comment- always seem to finish with how the actresses are "clearly" obese and "obiously" unhealthy… You know this how? You're judging someone on photos. You don't know them. You've never spent time with them. You don't know there eating/exercise habits. So HOW are you so sure that their obese? For all you know they eat healthier then you and exercise more too. Or mabye they've already changed their habits and are slowly losing weight. Or mabye they are truly unhealthy. But you don't know that for a fact, so can people just STOP judging them by photos and films? Unless you've spent months with these people and seen first hand their lifestyle, cop on and stop making insulting comments about people you don't know. It's rude, unfair and i want you to think about how you'd feel if people judged you the way you judge them.

M. LaVora Perry says:
Tue, 13th Jul 20101:08 pm 

Scientifically speaking, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables while also exercising moderately and regularly (for an adult the equivalent of brisk walking 30 min/day, 5 days/week is sufficient) supports good health for most people–regardless of body size.

Severely restricting your caloric intake (what we call “dieting”) is unhealthy even though it makes you lose weight. Not exercising is unhealthy even though if you restrict your calories you will probably lose weight whether you exercise or not. Eating very few plant foods is unhealthy, even though you may look thin on a “diet” that features diet coke and low fat yogurt.

Most people who diet gain all the weight back and more. which is in itself unhealthy. If our focus was on good heatlh, rather than on body size, we’d all be healthier. Because you can exercise regularly and eat nutritiously at any size.

But because we focus on weight so much, when dieters do not lose the desired amount of pounds they revert to eating unhealthy foods and not exercising when these actions are what lead to good health.

I urge everyone to read Paul Campos’ “The Obesity Myth–Why America’s Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to our Health.” Here are excerpts from an article I wrote that mentions this resource:

Overview
…In “The Obesity Myth,” lawyer Paul Campos asks: If fat equals unhealthy and people in the United States have gotten progressively fatter over the past century, why are they dying later instead of sooner?

Misconceptions
According Campos, obesity is not the greatest health risk in the United States, a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition are the culprits. He cites research that when overweight or obese adults follow the CDC recommendation to exercise the equivalent of walking briskly five days a week for 30 minutes each day, and primarily eat nutritious foods, they are just as healthy as thinner people who do so.

Campos says research shows that the more a person loses and regains weight–or “yo-yo” diets–the more likely she is to suffer from illnesses associated with obesity. So, typically, a fat person who exercises and eats nutritiously is healthier than a yo-yo dieter.

Expert Insight
In an April 2005 “Journal of the American Medical Association” report, Katherine M. Flegal, Ph.D., and colleagues cite decades of international studies indicating that on average a person 5 pounds underweight faces a greater risk of early death than someone 25 or more pounds overweight.

Flegal found that when excluding “smokers and those with possible illness-induced weight loss … [being] overweight was still not associated with excess mortality risk.” Scientifically speaking, says Flegal’s team, an overweight person’s risk of early death is about the same or lower than a normal weight person’s risk.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/147051-the-facts-of-obesity-in-america/#ixzz0taCB6am6

sarah says:
Sun, 18th Jul 20101:44 pm 

Is someone who is overweight more unhealthy than a skinny person? Even if the overweight woman works out and eats healthy and the skinny woman stays thin simply because she’s naturally thin?

- No, they aren’t more unhealthy simply because they’re bigger. I find it hilarious when someone will bash another person because of their weight, but try to validate their comments by pulling the health card. It’s ignorant, and just, well, rude.

Has the word curvy become a catch-all phrase for anyone who is not stick-thin? Are obese woman curvy? What is the real definition of curvy?

- I think the definition of curvy for most people (let’s face it, most men…) is a thin or skinny woman with t&a, which technically IS curvy. I think people WANT the definition to be a chubby girl, bigger thighs, bit of a muffin top, bigger boobs, just thicker in general. The definition varies between people, though. Obviously.

Where’s the cut off from curvy and voluptuous to fat and obese?

- That one’s down to personal opinion. Personally I could find a single person capable of being more than one of those things.

Is it irresponsible as a society to celebrate an obese woman and call her beautiful?

- Yes and no. I think celebrating a couple of body types and considering those the standard of beauty is irresponsible. I think to go too far in the other direction and showcase a severely obese person as the pinnacle of health and beauty would be equally as irresponsible. Do I think that someone who is obese could be beautiful? Absolutely, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re healthy. I think society should celebrate everyone, regardless of size, but emphasize health (not the shape people assume come with health).

What determines being healthy and fit: Being skinny? Having a good BMI? Eating well and exercising?

- I think regularly visiting your doctor and leaving with a clean bill of health is what determines how healthy you are. How could anyone argue otherwise? Of course, there are exceptions, and if we see someone shooting up in an alleyway; someone who can’t leave their bed because they’re so large; someone whose bones painfully stick out… we consider them unhealthy, because there’s no possible way they are healthy. Other than dramatic examples that are obvious to us all, we can’t as a singular person or society as a whole look at a person who is bigger than others and peg them as unhealthy.

These days, women are airbrushed beyond belief on magazine covers, billboards, and whatnot. They throw as much money as they can at plastic surgeons, diet pill companies, and tanning salons. Girls are being taught from a young age to be critical of literally every part of their bodies (think anal bleaching, or labiaplasty). THIS is why girls are bashing each other and tearing each other down. Think of just how hard it is to be a girl right now with society telling you even the most private parts of your body are not in their ‘ideal’ state. They throw an almost unattainable standard of beauty out there, and the result is girls and women scrambling all over each other to be thinner, or tanner, or bustier, or blonder. It almost seems as though we’ll never be satisfied until we all look like we just stepped off an assembly line…

The differences between us are what make us unique and beautiful, and I feel that the general obsession over appearance is what is truly unhealthy.

Dead says:
Sun, 18th Jul 20108:55 pm 

I'm anorexic because of this shit.

Julia says:
Mon, 19th Jul 20108:13 pm 

Jennifer Lopez is "curvy". Sophia Loren was "curvy".

Severly ovrweight and obese people are not "curvy": They are what they are. And real acceptance starts from an admission that things are the way the are, without ridiculous euphemisms.

The problem is the sick health obsession (panic fear of disease and death) that is leading people to bash the overweight. Also Hitler sterilised the "unhealthy" members of society. You know, he did not want to promote "unhealthiness" among the German Volk!

Once and for all, If overweight people were indeed less healthy, they would deserve even MORE respect, kindness, love and compassion than eveyone else. Or are you going to take an Uzi to a hospital and open fire in the wards to purge society of such undesirable influences, of such bad examples? So depressing.

The Raisin Girl says:
Tue, 20th Jul 20108:59 am 

Here's a revolutionary thought: why don't we all stick our noses back in our own business and stop caring so much about what other people look like or think of how WE look? You know the difference between healthy and obese? You are obese when your doctor declares you obese, because this isn't the same as the social pejorative "fat." Obese is a clinical term that signifies a person has reached a weight that is so over their MEDICAL norm that they are at significant risk for adverse health effects, or are already experiencing such effects. Obesity can make day-to-day life harder for the sufferer and can reduce life expectancy.

The only person who should need to discuss anyone's weight is their doctor. Period.

Shannon says:
Fri, 30th Jul 20109:46 pm 

ok wow people. first of all people need to stop throwng the health "facts" at us, truth is whether your obese or thin as a rail we all have the same health risks. Sure there are some things only associated with obese people but there are also things just associated with thin people…women who are very thin will most likeyl have more problems with their periods,getting pregnant and having a child and also they have lower estrgen levels which isnt exactly the best. obese women have a set of their own problems. As for the comment about "being able to run a mile is a requirement of being healthy" is crap. And also for the record i have been overweight most of life…but i proably "exersize" harder and more often than most people here and i eat pretty damn healthy too. Just because im overweight doesnt mean im not healthy…i am damn healthy and let me tell you what even though i am overweight i am beautiful. so dont throw the "health risks of obese people" out there…cuz EVERYONE..women, men, fat or skinny have health risks

jennifer says:
Mon, 9th Aug 201012:53 am 

last time i checked, having a big butt or love handles didn't change weather or not you had a pretty face. obese women are unhealthy, but at the same time, who's to say that miss 120 pounds doesnt have health problems? maybe heart disease runs in her family or breast cancer. obesity INCREASES the chances of these things, but doesn't necessarily CAUSE them. there's a difference. most people if asked the question "would you rather be obese or have cancer?" would say "i'd rather have cancer." i don't even need to go on about how completely fucked that is, but people are really scared of being overweight and of people who ARE overweight. if someone is beautiful and UNHEALTHY, it doesn't mean they're NOT BEAUTIFUL. if you really feel the need to point out how unhealthy some obese women are, you must really have self image issues. it must really upset you to know that the fat girl can look in the mirror and love herself when you can't.

Brittany says:
Wed, 11th Aug 201010:51 pm 

After reading a few of the posts, I felt the need to comment. I feel like some of the commenter were saying that calling obese women beautiful was somehow glorifying obesity or making it seem okay; how calling obese women curvy was putting them in a category where they didn’t belong. I just have to ask: who defines this category? What one person or few people can raise their hand and factually and truthfully say where the beginning and end points of what constitutes as curvy are located?
No one can do that, because everyone is different–we think differently and act differently and the way we view things are different. In that case, who are we to say Gabourey isn’t curvy? Of course she is obese, but this does not make her any less curvy than it makes her unbeautiful. Should we call her ugly and belittle her physical appearance to drive home the point that she is unhealthy? I don’t think so. It isn’t glorifying obesity to call and obese person beautiful. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, whether they are obese or not, because physical appearance doesn’t constitute for what beauty truly is. We live in a society that’s almost completely forgotten that beauty isn’t only what is pleasing to the eye or what we are told we should think is pleasing to the eye.

Overweight or obese doesn’t automatically mean unhealthy. My doctors tell me I am obese, my BMI is higher than it should be, I’m not the correct weight for my height and age. I recognize this. In an attempt to show you how overweight doesn’t immediately mean you are unhealthy, I will use myself and my twin sister for example. I’m bigger than her, I won’t say how much because it isn’t relevant, but just know that it is more than forty pounds. While I am bigger than my twin sister, I am also the healthiest: my cholesterol is right where is should be, my blood sugar is perfect, my blood pressure is perfect, my sodium levels are good, everything healthwise about me is good where my sister has been two hops and a skip away from diabetes. I’m not saying that just because of these numbers I’m somehow not at a risk because of my weight, I know that I have a higher risk for certain sicknesses. I’m just trying to prove that you can be overweight and healthy.
I exercise 5 days a week, two of those days are yoga, and the rest is walking/jogging. I know what foods to put in my mouth and which to avoid. I’m aware of my body. Would you call me unhealthy keeping all that in mind just because I don’t fit into a size 4 or 6 or 8 or 10 or 12 or 14 or even 16?

My definition of curvy isn’t law, it’s simply my opinion. I think a curvy woman is a woman who wears her extra pounds with grace and confidence and in a way that anyone can admire, not because she has a nice butt or that perfect dip of a waist that flairs into those hips, but because the way she carries herself as a full-figured person is simply beautiful and anyone can see that. I can proudly say that I consider myself curvy, and it isn’t because of what anyone else says, it’s because of what I say.

Gia says:
Sat, 28th Aug 20105:44 am 

I understand that you guys try to defend the "curvy" females….but calling all slim women "stick thin" isn't exactly a very mature way to express your thoughts, folks. Talking about double standards.

Gia says:
Sat, 28th Aug 20105:54 am 

Btw, Shannon, some very thin women are naturally very thin. You guys need to stop putting everyone in one category. It's NOT true that thin women have the health issues you guys kept on listing. This is all bullsh*t. Get a grip!

First of all, yes, I'm gonna start with a cliche….I am a very thin woman, naturally, no matter how much I eat. I'm perfectly healthy, don't lack any vitamins, have enough calcium, low negative cholesterol, little fat (I'm a very small frame, too). I don't have any health problems and never had any serious ones. I rarely get sick and recover very quickly. I actually do have a LOT of estrogen, naturally. Never had any period problems and I function perfectly. So, don't feed me this biased bullsh*t that thin women don't have much estrogen and that we don't have regular periods and that we're sick and don't function well, just because we happen to be naturally underweight. That is UTTER bullsh*t. This would only apply to the females whose bodies are used to a higher weight and who make themselves lose weight drastically. Of course the body would go off-balance if you abuse it like that. But leave the naturally thin/very thin women OUT of this category, mmkay? Thank you very much.

Taylor says:
Sun, 19th Sep 20107:52 pm 

Reading posts like these and knowing other females wrote them is so disappointing. I would think that girls would be the most understanding of living in a society where body image is the most important thing. But how are any of you to speak on someone's health when you know nothing about their eating/exercise habits? Also, many of these comments are just plain cruel "I do NOT want to be put into the same category as so and so because she's just FAT." These comments are just going to show how catty girls can be. They also prove how much the media has skewed our perspective of what is beautiful. According to many of your standards, Marilyn Monroe would be considered obese today. But do you know what made her so beautiful? That she embraced who she was. And another thing, (just so I can continue to be all over the place) you cannot use examples of people on shows like "The Biggest Loser" because those are very uncommon and impractical solutions. Putting people in very specific circumstances, providing the top weight trainers, personal dieticians, the pressure of a television show, and often a cash reward, does not in any way resemble real life. How fair is it to say that if these people can do it, anyone can? Sure, put them on the show and maybe they would.

All I'm saying is that I'm saddened to know how hurtful girls can be; who I would expect to share the same feelings of self doubt, anxiety, and pressure from society. Shows how far we as a nation have to go to promote equality.

Kari says:
Wed, 29th Sep 20103:20 pm 

What is amazing to me is how many people on here are talking about how awful and unhealthy it is to be fat. The biggest issue I have with this is the need to control. The inherent need to control everything about people so that they are what you define as being right, or healthy in your mind. Maybe you need to accept that NO ONE is perfect. Everyone does something that they shouldn't, and they know it. I think that the controlling ones, who think they have the right to criticize because they know "better" are only controlling because they think that by controlling others, their own flaws will go away. You will never find peace until you realize that everyone is flawed, and to celebrate the good in people instead of constantly criticizing others who you don't feel meet your standards of perfect. Those who feel that they are just thinking of overweight person's health, do you really think that there will EVER be a time when it is considered by the Media that plus size is the definition of beautiful? Do you really think that the people you are criticizing have never heard anything like your viewpoint before? Then think why it is so important for you to change these people.

Sarah says:
Mon, 8th Nov 201010:58 am 

I think that having a little extra weight is fine, just as long as the person is being healthy. As soon as a person's health is questioned…it's being overweight, not "curvy".

I feel like the word "curvy" has become a catch-all. Style guides in magazines have all these sections I don't fit into: I'm not tall, I'm not petite, I'm not pear shaped, I don't have a bust disproportionate to my body…I have an hourglass shape but I have some extra weight. So I go to the "curvy" section and there is ALWAYS a picture of an obese woman. Seeing pictures like that, I feel like I can't relate to the section and it sucks!

The cut off, I feel, comes in the form of a BMI.

Don't get me wrong: I'm all for celebrating beautiful women who aren't these stick thin model types, but it's getting a little out of control. I don't think that a woman who is close to 300 pounds should be celebrated. It's irresponsible to put that message out there, as children might think it's okay to be overweight and put themselves at risk for health problems.

Sab says:
Tue, 9th Nov 20102:20 am 

Hi Anna. I agree with you. There are obvious lines between anorexia, unhealthily skinny, slim but healthy, average, curvy and healthy, fat, obese, and morbidly obese. I am not about to celebrate anorexia, unhealthily skinny, fat, obese or morbidly obese.

Writers of these stupid articles – GROW UP!

Girl/slash/Woman says:
Sun, 19th Dec 201011:15 pm 

I'm sorry but I don't agree with you at all. A lot of women I know are +200 lbs who eat healthy, lift weights and still can't lose weight due to PCOS or hypothyroidism while thinner women stay skinny by living off diet coke and cigarettes. Should be be encouraging that sort of behavior, then? Because even though it leads to heart failure and disease, at least they look good, right? What about women who do blow in an effort to stay thin? Is that okay?
It's funny to me that you resent being "lumped in" with people who you consider are inferior to you in some extent when there are probably plenty of people out there who think anything over 150 lbs is obese and would resent being lumped in the same category as you. Weight is a very sensitive topic and as you walk down the street, know that you're being judged no matter what. The only person who can change that is yourself- if we can stop judging people, we can stop ourselves from being judged.
The outside says nothing about what a person really is. You have a different value system so you prioritize being athletic. Other people may prioritize education or religion or anything else. And that's okay- what you need to stop doing is forcing your beliefs on others because let's be honest, you don't have a right to do that at all.
I think it's time that people like you either change your minds or just shut up already. Because you make judgments about everyone and then you get annoyed when people do the same to you. It's a little hypocritical and frankly, extremely annoying. Especially since you don't realize the pitfalls of your behavior.

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Mel says:
Sun, 7th Aug 20114:14 pm 

… you just repeated everything that Anna said, just in a different manner. Her point was if they're not taking care of themselves, they're not healthy. Her example of that was exercise.

Your point was that if they're not taking care of themselves, they're not healthy. Your example was skinny girls who do drugs, have terrible diets.

So… I'm gonna say that you don't disagree. :3

GW says:
Tue, 22nd Nov 20117:33 am 

@mel: I’m gonna go ahead and say you don’t get it at all :3

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