by Mikalyn

Created on: August 08, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Is it Possible to be Fat and Happy?

Isn't everyone warmed by the company of a fat, happy cat? Even though there is a small voice in the back of my head telling me that I have made the cat fat, regardless of his wishes; for I am the hand that feeds. Well, we're all the hands that feed and we are charged with the responsibility of feeding ourselves. This can and has become a very big problem in our country and like its victims, it expanding. Obesity is an issue but before we can truly look deeper there is a factor one must first consider; fat.

The other day, while a friend and I were trying on clothes I heard her; a 110 5'6" total knockout of a woman say to me, "I'm so fat," as she tried to pull together a handful of flab from her belly. I wanted to take off my shirt and shake my rather robust Buddha belly in her face, but I kept my composure and assured her that she was indeed within her appropriate weight target range. I wondered though, if it's even possible to be skinny and happy today. I think that the hubbub about who is "fat" and who is "skinny" has warped our sense of what is healthy. Just the word fat brings to mind tabloid pictures of celebrities with a couple of dimples on their thighs. We must be aware of this cosmetic "foundation" that's been heavily airbrushed into our media and surgically implanted into our realities when considering what "fat" really is. The definition of obese according to "Obesity Help.com" is: An excessive amount of body fat. An excessive amount to a physician would be approximately more than 30% body fat. It varies slightly between men and women.

This is important because of the judgment that is placed upon all individuals by themselves and others and the anxiety that it creates within ourselves and those we judge. We must understand our own body and its degrees of health. We have to know our own feeling of what is healthy to us mentally and physically. Separating ourselves from what is trendy can be hard for all of us and that is why it's very important. When a teenage girl looks into the mirror, and hanging next to it is a picture of Paris Hilton its important that she is aware of her own distinguished traits, which make her different from that picture no matter what. Those things are what make her healthy and beautiful, for they do go hand in hand. Your target weight will not be the same as Ms. Hilton's but guess what? You are still beautiful.

True obesity has not conclusively been linked with genetics, other than lifestyle similarities. Also, poverty is associated with obesity but there has not been an established connection between the two. It is possible to be poor and still eat healthy in this country. In most cases, obesity is directly related to environment and mental well-being. If someone is always so busy that they do not have time to stop and eat a healthy meal, they are unhealthy and subsequently, unhappy. You cannot be happy when your body is ill on an ongoing basis because of something you voluntarily continue to do. Often, this and the social pressures and anxieties associated with being "fat" can cause depression and that can cause more eating. It's a sad vortex, and it takes strength to get out of it. It is not possible to be fat and happy, for being fat suggests the need for a change in lifestyle. This works both ways for it is also impossible to be skinny and happy. It's just important to be healthy.

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