‘fat is the new normal’

I was watching “House” on FOX the other day (the only non-sports program I watch other than “Heroes”) and Dr. House was trying to persuade this obese woman to lose weight. At first he thought she was pregnant, then it turned out she had a benign tumor. But she didn’t want it removed — no, she said, this is what “real women” look like: they have curves! That’s a refrain you hear a bit today, a backlash against supposedly “impossible” beauty standards. But via the NYC Crossfit blog, I found this interesting study from Florida State University that argues kinda the reverse:

American women have gotten fatter as it has become more socially acceptable to carry a few extra pounds, according to a new study.

[The study] argues that the ballooning weight of the population has fed even more collective weight gain as our perception of what is considered a normal body size has changed.

“This is a social force that we are trying to document because the rise in obesity has occurred so rapidly over the past 30 years,” said Heiland, … “Medically speaking, most agree that this trend is a dangerous one because of its connection to diabetes, cancer and other diseases. But psychologically, it may provide relief to know that you are not the only one packing on the pounds.”

The researchers also looked at self-reports of women’s real weights and desired weights. In 1994, the average woman said she weighed 147 pounds but wanted to weigh 132 pounds. By 2002, the average woman weighed 153 pounds but wanted the scales to register 135 pounds, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

The fact that even the desired weight of women has increased suggests there is less social pressure to lose weight, Heiland said, citing a previous study that 87 percent of Americans, including 48 percent of obese Americans, believe that their body weight falls in the “socially acceptable” range.

While it seems thinness is increasingly idealized in popular culture—images of waif-like models and stick-thin celebrities are everywhere—there is a gap between the cultural imagery and the weights that most people consider acceptable for themselves and others, according to Heiland.

The researchers focused this study on women partly because their weight gains have been so dramatic, Heiland said, citing a whopper of a statistic: 33.2 percent of American women over age 20 are classified as obese, according to 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. However, men also have become heavier, and the researchers believe the same economic, social and biological forces are to blame.

(The study is available here, but it costs $39. Ahh, I long for the days when academic research will be available free on the Internet…)

P.S. I kinda regret that the study just focused on women. But to some extent I feel like it’s women who have made women’s bodies and “beauty standards” an issue of public discussion in a way that men haven’t. E.g., Tyra Banks and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Also, FYI, the 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey classifies 31.1% of men as overweight — up from 27.5% in 1999.)