Spandex. Estimates suggest that it is found in 80% of the clothing sold in America. Which means that almost every single American owns at least one piece of clothing that has at some amount of Spandex in it. And apparently, some people think that it’s making us fat.

The stretchy fabric emerged in 1959, and was first used in underwear and workout gear. It rose to popularity during disco mania in the 1970s, and from then on began to be used in more and more clothing. Spandex is unique because it can stretch up to twice its original size, and then snap back into shape. And it’s in everything – check the tags on your clothes and you are sure to find at least some amount of Spandex in the majority of them.

A recent NPR story, part of a series about obesity in America, traces the history of Spandex. The story completely assumes that the rise in popularity of spandex is due to the rise of obesity in America, and repeatedly suggests that spandex may be some kind of an enabler. Back in the 1960s, “fabrics were rigid and people were thin,” but Americans now are looking for clothes to accommodate their expanding waistlines. People who are overweight are able to find clothes that fit them (gasp!), so they are encouraged to remain overweight instead of dieting out of shame. Read More »

[We're all about celebrating a positive body image here at CollegeCandy and many of our readers claim the same thing. However we've noticed that while many commentors are quick to jump to the defense of curvy women, they're even quicker to accuse skinny women of having an eating disorder. This is one (skinny) CollegeCandy writer's reaction.]

I always hated the day when we would watch movies involving a girl with an eating disorder in middle school and high school. Suddenly people would be leaning back in their chairs and furrowing their brows at me. I could never escape their concerned glances, the way they watched me eat my salad I had packed that day. Sometimes I’d even hear them whisper to each other about how I was unhealthy. Usually I would react by rolling my eyes and getting the greasiest pizza slice the cafeteria had to offer. This wouldn’t stop them from shaking their heads when I headed to the bathroom after lunch. Read More »

This week should have been transformed into a national holiday.  Unless you’re under a bunch of rocks, Jersey Shore and Project Runway premiered yesterday – on the same day as National Lasagna Day. Coincidence? I think not.  And if you’re anything of a nerd nugget like myself, Shark Week is also premiering August 1st.  Get some. Actually, it should be National Week Of Not Getting Some, because I’m going to be too busy sitting on my couch to give a rat’s you know what about anything or anybody else.

However, when the best week in television comes to an abrupt end, I’m going to take it upon myself and mix myself up a couple batches of margarita mix and enjoy the last month of summer with style.  Are you with me? First though, let’s back track on a wonderful week that sucked-my-social-life-to-oblivion (thanks Jersey Shore, Project Runway & Shark Week).

- Bros like Nattys and beasting at the gym better than you.  One of the many reasons you shouldn’t date a bro.

- When you have that sudden crave to escape to Maui for the weekend, forget about it.  Because we’ve got some places that you can afford, and cue the happy vibes.

- We discovered there really is, a class for Sexting. Is the teacher a hottie? I’m getting ahead of myself.

- Do you remember any washed out celebs off hand? Probs not. Bet you would if they did this. Read More »

We recently ran a series that everyone here at the CollegeCandy offices thought would be an awesome way to give our usually pro-body-acceptance readers a self-esteem boost. But instead Celebrating Celebrity “Flaws” turned into a body-bashing he-man-woman-hater’s club. We didn’t see that coming. We were just trying to celebrate our differences that everyone, from the media to our friends, is telling us are wrong and ugly. Instead the very people we wanted to celebrate (you!), cut each other down.

How are we ever going to learn to love our bodies, if we can’t even talk positively about differences?

The conversation about flat celebrities wasn’t about the pressure to have big boobs (and of course a skinny frame), but rather about how all skinny, flat woman “obviously” have eating disorders. The conversation about big noses and bushy eyebrows wasn’t about the pressure to have petite/adorable facial features, but instead about how these women didn’t have big enough noses, or weird enough noses, or bushy enough eyebrows.  It’s as if you’re saying that it has to be one or the other. A small nose or a huge nose; groomed eyebrows or a unibrow. There’s no middle ground.

While we were pretty disappointed by all the body-bashing in the first 3 posts, we seemed to touch on some real issues in the curvy girls post and we were really interested by what we read. There was tons of backlash about who we chose — and a lot of people were upset that we included people like Monique, Nikki Blonsky, and Gabourey Sidibe. Apparently there’s a line between curvy and fat; and we crossed it. Not were we unaware of that line, but we were also pretty surprised that so many people defined “curvy” so differently.

So we wanted to open up these questions to everyone and find out what our readers really think. Read More »

Dear Dude,

I want a boyfriend. I have been single for the last four years, and although there have been opportunities for love to kindle, things just never seem to work out. I think a part of it is my fault. I am very conscious about my weight (I am full-figured). I think I am a very intelligent, funny and generous person, and I have a great circle of friends. But I don’t know how to show a guy that I have all these qualities because, frankly, most guys seem more interested in the way women look. Dude, how can I make a guy see past my weight to the person that I am inside, when looks play such a huge role in a guy’s opinion of a girl?

Sincerely,
Single and Not Loving It

P.S. I want to add that I am not ugly, just a little overweight. Read More »

Because the best way to align people to your cause is by totally alienating a large portion of the population.
Eff you, PETA.
I’m going to eat a big, juicy burger just to spite you.

Last night I had a dilemma. A major dilemma. Involving TV.

You see, I wasn’t sure which I wanted – no, needed – to watch more: the Paris Hilton documentary on MTV, or More To Love, Fox’s newest dating show.

It was a tough call, but being that MTV shows everything 4,367 times, I went with More To Love.

Ever since I heard about this “Bachelor for real people” I was intrigued. Having grown up overweight (and not had my first kiss until the ripe age of 18!), I really got behind a show that didn’t focus on looks and really just gave everyone a chance at love. Or as much “love” as you can get by meeting someone through a reality show on Fox.

I settled in front of the TV with some (fat free!) frozen yogurt, excited for the “real” people that were about to find their soul mates. And what did I find? 60 minutes of sound bites for the likes of Chelsea Handler, Joel McHale and every blogger on the internet to rip into women with already questionable self esteem.

Seriously, even I couldn’t hold back on the jokes. And that’s bad.

There is so much wrong with this show that I don’t even know where to start. Lucky for you, I got really good at taking notes on my iPhone while watching, so here are some of my biggest issues with More To Love:

Read More »

All my life, I’ve been heavy. When I was younger I was ridiculed and bullied constantly about my weight problem, so I was always fairly depressed. Sure, I ate a lot (…of pastries), but my eating never warranted the amount of weight I would actually gain. It was strange – I went to camp one summer and came back 30 pounds heavier even though I barely ate the slop I was served the two months I was away.

At my heaviest (which was in eighth grade), I weighed 230 pounds. I had been to a fat farm (fat camp, weight loss summer program, what have you) for two weeks before entering my last year of middle school but I had gained everything I lost back. My parents and I realized it was time for more drastic action, and with that I was enrolled at Camp Pocono Trails for eight weeks. Read More »

When I started training for a half-marathon a few years back I was absolutely convinced that I would be in the best shape of my life. How could running at least 7 miles everyday not give me lean, sexy legs, rock hard abs, or toned arms?

Yet as D-day approached, I didn’t find myself shedding pounds; I found myself staying the same weight. Yes, I was burning thousands of calories, but my body was also demanding more fuel for those long aerobic sessions.

After weeks upon weeks without a change in my physical self, I began to wonder: Is it possible to be really fit, yet not look it? Because I was by no means “fat,” but I definitely didn’t obtain the incredible runner body I had hoped for. Read More »

Everyone knows Americans are fatter than ever, but a new book, The World is Fat, by Barry Popkin reveals that it’s not just us hopping on the obesity train. According to Popkin, over a billion people worldwide are now considered obese. A billion!

This includes people in China, in Africa and in rural parts of South America.

How is this happening? And is it our fault? Many people used to believe that obesity was caused by Americans and was exported worldwide through the sale of fast food, high calorie beverages and other fatty American foods. But it seems that is only part of the problem.

Popkin says:

“What’s happened is that from 30 years ago to today, we’ve had an exponential explosion in what we can think of as the “obesogenic environment.” You see food available everywhere. You can’t move more than 100 feet without seeing a caloric beverage. In most of the world, it used to be that people mostly drank water, and today they’re consuming more and more sweetened beverages…Then you match that kind of diet with human biology. We naturally prefer sweet and fatty foods because of what those foods used to mean for survival when we were hunter-gatherers. They had the nutrients we needed, and they let us store more energy for the hungry season.”

Add the increased availibility of food to the fact that people are moving less (thanks to the advancement of technology) and weight gain is inevitable.

Individuals can combat obesity by doing the obvious – moving more and consuming less – but Popkin argues that there needs to be a global initiative to fight this problem. The only question is: what can we do? If this is the natural progression of things, is there really anything anyone can do to stop it? Is the world just going to keep getting fatter and fatter?