Body Positivity Is Fine, But An Unhealthy Body Is Not — Why We Should Not Link The Two

Representational photo of an overweight man.

Source : Getty

We humans, just like animals, have an innate need to reproduce. Ideally, we would want to reproduce with the 'healthiest partner' possible. Biologically, we have an 'eye' for healthier individuals and would want to mate with healthier individuals so that we give birth to healthier individuals. That's why we get attracted to 'healthier' individuals. Over the years, the world has changed, social media is here, and we have become more insecure than ever but we are biologically 'similar' and have similar goals.

Obesity and psychology: Unfair disadvantage

Lack of confidence: A lot of obese individuals go through a lot on a daily basis during all phases of their lives.

• 'Innocent' body-shaming at the school.
• Not getting a lot of attention from the opposite sex during adolescence.
• Selection of 'All Rounders Awards' in school.
• College modelling. Or Instagram.
• Job selection.
• 'Partner Selection' for relationships etc.
• Lack of confidence when it comes to stuff we are good at throughout our lives.

Lack of security: A lot of us (not everyone*), obese individuals, go through phases of lack of security where we feel someone better 'looking' might come and take our place. Security is a big need for us. 

Fear of Judgement: We humans are self-absorbed.  A lot of us (this applies to everyone) live in this fear that we are constantly being judged without realising that everyone is going through a lot in their lives already and don't have the time to deeply analyse and judge. This gets worsened when we are obese.

Obesity and physiology

Adipose tissue gain/weight gain comes with certain metabolic issues: Inflammation, Insulin resistance, hormonal issues, organ health related Issues: mental health, heart, liver, lymphatic health, and even stuff like cancer for some to name a few.

Most health-related down regulations such as inflammation and IR happen when the fat cells get 'overloaded'.

If one is obese, the chances of them being healthy are lower. Not even mentioning the effects on mental health and productivity increased inflammation and IR can have, especially if coupled with chronic stress and nutrient deficiencies, which are very common.

Social Media and fake body positivity

A lot of those lies on social media get a lot of approval in the form of likes as everyone wants to look 'nice' on social media. People are randomly liking, sharing and reposting to support a lie and others liking and sharing to lie to themselves.

The fun part about lying to self is: DEEP INSIDE, WE KNOW THAT.

I appreciate all 'body positivity' content creators because they are great content creators with great content and super aesthetic feeds. But if you think and propagate that being obese is healthy, it's high level of misinformation.

It's disservice to self an every fool who is propagating the lie and supporting it and not taking the first step to improve before anything else.

In the end, one has to live with themselves not on social media.

The paradox of Change: Self-acceptance for obese individuals

We should not be lying to ourselves about fake body positivity. Another thing we should not be lying about it: Our current state.

Change occurs when one becomes what he is, not when he tries to become what he is not. Accept where you are and start working on it. You can change it.

What we should be accepting of:

• Last bit of fat your body wants to hold onto due to its survival mechanism. Yes, for most of us, having six packs is not ideal from a health and life standpoint.
• Things we cannot change: Genetics, Height, Color, Facial Features, Bone Structure etc.  #ActualBodyPositivity
• If you didn't know: We can lose the fat. Most of us. It's a habit change thing. It's not easy, but it is POSSIBLE and if it bothers you.

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