when pop culture gets it right...or wrong: healthy vs. thin

Hey Peeps!

It seems over the last couple of years, the two things I've been bombarded with are photos of thin girls...

photo pulled from: http://www.komonews.com/news/health/5582811.html

and advertisements for fast food.

photo property of Wendy's

Oh, and let's not forget the thin girls eating fast food.

photo property of Carl's Jr. and Hardees

Every time I saw these things, I couldn't help but think of the two extremes these must lead to.

And I don't think I'm far off. According to WIN (http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/):

• Among children and adolescents ages 6 to 19:
• Almost 1 in 3 (33.2 percent) are considered to be overweight or obese, and 18.2 percent are considered to be obese.

And According to ANAD (http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/):

• Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as       skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives.

On that note, I'd seen a lot of "Thinspiration" blogs pop up on my Tumblr, a good number of which are girls who binge on fast food then punish themselves by starving the next day or shaming themselves for their lack of self-control. 

Luckily, I've also seen change, and again, a lot of it is on Tumblr.  A rise of  "fitspiration" is coming around. Posts that used to look like this:

post pulled from: http://skyscrapersandskylines.com/2012/04/20/thinspiration-dangers/

Are now looking like this:

And celebrities, used to be known for saying say this:

photo pulled from: here

Are now saying things like this:

And on the obesity side of things, I've seen more of  this:

article pulled from Apil 22nd's issue of People magazine

It's empowering to see my fellow peeps using food as nutrition, not punishment or comfort. It's also great to see people like Jennifer Lawrence who refuse to be stick-thin, and instead opt for health. So, next time you see an advertisement for fast food, look up the nutrition facts, and decide whether or not these restaurants have your health in mind. And next time you see an impossibly thin girl in a magazine, assume that it's just some photo editor who's had the keen idea to do this:

And if you're looking for a good book about a girl that tackles body issues, check out THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG, ROUND THINGS, by Carolyn Mackler. 

Until next time...

Peace, love, and spaghetti squash