by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: February 08, 2009

The media, the government, and health professionals all seem to be obsessed with the so-called obesity epidemic which plagues society. Obesity certainly has been on the rise over the past decade or so, but why do representatives of such institutions need to drive home the fact to the general public that everybody is getting fatter, and that being fatter means a person's health is likely to suffer? Surely people already know whether they are overweight, or not, and what the implications for their health are, don't they?

Well, apparently not, as many people prefer not to step on the scales, or own scales which do not reach a high-enough number. Other people know how much they weigh, but the numbers mean little to them, despite the prevalence of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a tool to classify whether a person is overweight or not. The Body Mass Index is easy to access, and to find out your BMI does not require a special trip to the doctor's. It is possible to find a BMI calculator and information on how to lose weight on many websites, and it is often a person's BMI which forces them to face up to how unhealthy their weight is for someone of their height.

It is not particularly surprising that people are unaware of their own weight and size, though, when they are surrounded by people of the same size. Being overweight or obese seems to have become normalised to the extent that being a healthy weight is increasingly seen as being extraordinary, rather than being the norm. It is easier to criticise somebody for being too skinny rather than for people to face up to their own weight problems, which is perhaps why the size 0 debate took off, when in reality obesity is far more prevalent than being too skinny in the Western world.

Despite government campaigns and media coverage focusing on the dangers of obesity, there are still plenty of people who remain in denial about their actual size. In a way it makes sense that people prefer to bury their heads in the sand about their weight because not only is it quite difficult to lose weight; it also means facing up to the fact that their health is at risk, and that if they fail to lose weight they may well be jeopardising their future.

Doing nothing, though, will not rectify the situation, and so people need to face up to the stark reality if they want to carry on living a healthy life. It is important for people to have a positive view of themselves whatever their size, but being positive when overweight should not be used as an excuse to do nothing, particularly with the myriad of problems which they are eventually likely to develop as a result of their weight.

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