Drop 15 pounds fast! Lose weight now! Become a size 2 in two weeks!
It seems like these obnoxious headlines not only rule internet advertising but are a lifestyle for many people, especially college students. Becoming a size 2 (or smaller) is an obsession carried out by calorie-counting girls who often dare to take that extra bite of their Slim-Fast bars. Though this lifestyle is both unhealthy and unnecessary, it has become the ultimate trend.
The supermodel industry began with attractive, curvy women, showing off the latest pedal pushers and poodle skirts with their healthy bodies. Take Marilyn Monroe, a size 8 model in the 1950s. She was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. Today it would be unheard of for “beautiful” and “size 8″ to be put in the same sentence. The credit for the skinny industry can be given to the 1960s model Twiggy in a time when the underweight women were regarded as having the ideal body image.
Many think the Twiggy look is perfection and make it their goal to look good (and/or hungry). Though no one is blessed with a Barbie doll figure, some girls aim for this tainted opinion of perfection: an undernourished looking body. And so begins the investment in becoming thin.
UCLA is an extremely active campus. The Wooden Center is almost always packed and a majority of our students are either running, riding their bicycles or doing something active at all times. It is important to maintain an active lifestyle for the sake of our health, fitness, and physical and emotional well-being. We also have many healthy dining options with the variety of food choices we can make on campus and on the Hill.
However, there is a fine line between being health-conscious and health-obsessed. Some people take it to the extreme: skipping meals, counting calories and going to the gym three times a day. Being healthy becomes an obsessive habit, taking over your entire life. Ironically, this aim for “health” is no longer healthy. It is dangerous. Sure, you may fit into that size 2 pair of jeans you’ve always wanted to wear, but you may have sacrificed your sanity in order to achieve that dream.
I have noticed this obsession with body image at UCLA, especially among girls. As I was walking to class, I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation about a girl looking up calorie content on the internet and making choices based on the calorie count of the food item.
“I decided to go for the fruit salad. It was only 90 calories. But I really wanted that turkey sandwich. 370 was just too much for me,” she said. I turned around to see a girl half my size, almost at the brink of breaking apart because she looked like a twig, or Twiggy’s mini-me.
It sometimes seems that following the thin trend is encouraged, even by faculty. As I walked out of one of my “Group Exercise” classes at the Wooden Center last week, my instructor’s closing remarks were, “Don’t be afraid to eat this Thanksgiving. It’s a time to be thankful for the food available and actually eat it.”
It seemed to me she was implying that people don’t actually eat food the other 364 days of the year. I didn’t know about anyone else in the class, but I indulge in three or more hearty meals a day, Thanksgiving or not.
Why are people investing so much in skinniness? It is apparent that those who constantly limit their food and overwork themselves are the ones who are the most self-conscious. Low self-esteem causes this obsession but not without encouragement from the media, the supermodel industry and everyday encounters, such as those annoying internet advertisements. These people constantly look for acceptance; they think if they are not thin, they are not attractive. They will not get that extra glance they usually get from that guy in their class because a centimeter of their “muffin top” is hanging out.
This investment in being thin is not only ridiculous, it is dangerous. We all know what happened to Mary Kate Olsen and Nicole Richie, so why does society continue to place importance on how thin we are?
This is completely cliche, but we are all beautiful. We don’t need internet ads telling us we need to flatten our belly in six weeks. Most of us can’t look like those Victoria’s Secret models even if we tried. But what we can do is maintain a realistically healthy lifestyle and accept ourselves in our own skin. As for tomorrow, eat an entire turkey and enjoy it.
If you too are looking forward to turkey, e-mail Ghoogassian at cghoogassian@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.