Heavy Body, Not Heavy Heart

   In pictures from college I was thin. I worked full time, went to school full time, smoked, and lived off fast food and soft drinks. Friends say that I don't look like myself in those pictures. I looked ill, sad, and unhealthy.
   Now, at a weight considered to be dangerously high by medical charts, I live better than ever. I have given up smoking, and I eat a lot of vegetables; I enjoy walking, swimming and dancing classes. I exercise and eat well because I love living, not because I want to lose weight. My doctor tells me I am healthy, and this is much more important than being thin. Studies show that overweight people who exercise have a lower death rate than "normal" weight people who do not.
   Negative attitudes toward fat people begin in childhood. One study showed that, as early as nursery school, children liked pictures of disabled children of similar ages better than those of fat children. Similarly, a study of college students said they would rather marry a drug user, a thief, or a blind person than someone who was fat. These attitudes create discrimination that affects fat people in every aspect of their lives, including money matters. In fact, overweight, white women usually earn less than thin, white women—24 percent less, according to one study.
   People often justify their judgments about fat people by saying that people choose to be fat. Choose? Who would choose life as a fat person in this weight-obsessed culture? There are many false ideas about fat people in society: that all fat people have eating disorders or emotional or mental issues; that if they really wanted to lose weight they could.
   In reality, however, some people are naturally fat. How a person is born is simply science, not a comment on someone's character. The Center for Disease Control reports that 78 percent of American women are trying hard to lose weight, and at an amazing failure rate—95 percent get back what they've lost within two to five years.
   The often-heard comment of "you have such a pretty face" does not please me because of all that's not said: "If you'd just lose the weight you'd be beautiful."Beauty is a taught concept and the cultural standards for beauty change constantly.
   Later in life, I was happy to learn that some cultures have very different standards of beauty.While I was visiting the British Virgin Islands, a local man invited me to be in a picture with him on the beach. I asked, "Why me? There are women who look like models here."
   "Bones are for dogs," he said with a smile. "Meat is for men."

 

 

在大学的照片上我是个瘦子。
那时我做全职工作，全天上学，抽烟，吃快餐，喝软饮料。
朋友们说我和那时照片中的我一点都不像。
那时的我看上去一脸病态、情绪低落、身体很差。
根据医学标准，我现在的体重已经超标到危险的程度，但我的生活状况比以前任何时候都好。
我戒了烟，每天吃很多蔬菜；我喜欢散步、游泳、学跳舞。
我积极锻炼、注意饮食，并不是为了减肥，而是因为我热爱生活。
医生说我很健康，这比苗条重要得多。
研究表明坚持运动的肥胖者的死亡率比不运动的“正常”体重者低得多。
人们从孩童时代就开始歧视肥胖者。
一项研究表明，在幼稚园，孩子们更喜欢同龄的残疾儿童的照片而不喜欢肥胖儿童的照片。
与此相似，一项对大学生的调查显示，他们宁可同吸毒者、小偷、或盲人结婚，也不愿意同肥胖者结婚。
这类态度导致了肥胖者在生活各方面受到歧视，包括经济方面。
事实上，一项研究表明肥胖的白种妇女的收入比苗条的白种妇女少24%。
人们常常为歧视肥胖者找借口，认为肥胖是自己主观造成的。
这怎么可能？
在这样一个对体重高度敏感的文化中谁愿意选择做胖子呢？
社会上对于肥胖存在种种错误观念：所有的肥胖者都有饮食或感情或精神问题；
要是他们真正想减肥，是可以做到的。
然而，事实上，有些人天生就肥胖。
人的体质是一个科学问题，而不应该成为评价一个人性格的依据。
疾病控制中心的报告表明78%的美国妇女正竭力试图减肥，但成功率却出奇地低——其中95%的人在2至5年内又恢复了原来的体重。
常常有人对我说“你有一张漂亮的脸。”我却对此不以为然，因为我知道他们的潜台词：“你要是瘦一些的话会很漂亮的。”
其实美的概念是教育的结果，而且美丽的标准也在不断变化。
后来我渐渐了解，不同文化的审美标准是不同的，这使我很高兴。
有一次我到英属维尔京群岛，一名当地人邀请我和他在海滩上一起拍照。
我问他：“你为什么选我呢？这儿有些女人身材好得像模特。”
他微笑着对我说：“狗才喜欢骨头，男人喜欢肉。”