Real Life Question and Advice

A thirteen year old girl posted the following question on Yahoo! Answers recently. "Help please!  Am I too skinny? I am thirteen (in eighth grade) and I weight 80.2 pounds. My ribs are visible through my skin. I don't like eating a lot but I am a type 1 diabetic and I am suppose to eat certain amounts to maintain my blood Sugar and I usually eat that much some days less. Some people ask if I'm anorexic or bulimic but I'm not and I want to know how skinny is too skinny for my age? I'm 5'4"." You can read the various responses she received and judge them for yourself. Some tell her to eat more calories and foods with substance, some tell her she is too skinny for her age/height, and others compare themselves to her and say that she is just fine. What is your take on this? I feel like she is too skinny and maybe even unhealthy. I just do not believe that being only 80.2 pounds at her age is good. I know that I personally was always quite thin at that age, but I am shorter than her and never weighed that. If she is asking the question of whether or not she is too skinny, does that mean she doesn't have an eating disorder? Can we even judge that from the given information? Diabetes seems to be a big reason for how much food she eats. I just cannot see her being healthy if people commonly perceive her as too skinny or assume she is anorexic. 

Parent Involvement

This article was quite interesting. I can totally see this situation happening to a number of teens with their bewildered parents standing by without a clue as to what they should/could do to help their daughter. I have actually had this experience with my own mother many times as a young teen: none of my clothes look as good on me as on models, so I must be fat, and my whole body (which is actually healthy) is covered in ugly fat. I hate to admit that I ever had those thoughts, but I believe that being honest about our personal issues helps break societal barriers. Anyway, the article goes on to give parents some advice on listening to their child, understanding where she (the daughter) is getting these thoughts, and how to spot an eating disorder. I think information like this is important for parents because many have no clue how to help. Do you agree with the given tips, and have you ever been in a similar situation? What do you think helps girls in this situation? Empowered Parents 

Ruby

Ruby is a new reality show on Style Network. I saw commercials for it this weekend while watching TV, and decided to share it with you all. Ruby is a 500 pound woman, and the show will give an inside look at what her life is like--the struggles she faces, etc. Ruby's goal is to lose "hundreds of pounds" because her doctor has told her that if she does not lose the weight, she will definitely die. The executive producer is a close friend of Ruby's and she says, "Ruby really wants to inspire people. She's so entertaining and hysterical, so it's going to be an inspirational but also a really fun show (realitytvscoop.com). Style Network's website (which I recommend for a full view of the show and what it entails) has a whole mini-site about Ruby and her show, life, and even tips on how to deal with societal problems at such an extreme weight. Check out Ruby and let me know what you think. Do you think this show is a good idea and will help people and Ruby, or is it just another reality show to make money? (Notice the posed pics of Ruby on the site, don't they seem airbrushed and edited a little? Hmmmm)

Don't Die For a Diet

I was checking out YouTube for some examples of extreme diets and such, when I stumbled upon this scary, scary video. It starts out with a little girl, cutting out pictures of models from magazines. It goes on to give advice on how to stay thin, and tells viewers that one can never get too thin. These dangerous pieces of advice are apparently from actual pro-anorexia websites. The video ends with the instructions to NOT take this advice, and to follow the healthy advice of dontdieforadiet.com. I found this video to be quite disturbing, but I thought I would post it just to get some opinions on it. So, what do you think? Would this video help girls, or hurt them?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBYt9bYu194

BMI Info

BMI is deemed inaccurate by many sources, but this site gives the best summary of why it isn't appropriate to judge yourself by this false measurement. As a young teen I used to constantly check my weight on the BMI scale and was so worried that I was fat. I have never been over a size 7 in my life, and according to the BMI I was at risk for obesity. First, BMI does not ask for age, it only requires an input of height and weight. Secondly, it does not take muscle mass into account. So, if an athletic girl who is not unhealthily overweight, she may often appear so to the BMI scale, inaccurately making her self conscious. Why is BMI set as a standard for women to hold themselves to when it is not even accurate? I first learned that I should hold myself to the BMI standard by a health article in Seventeen Magazine as a young teen, and I did not learn to stop thinking of myself outside of these weight standards until a few years later. B-M-I equals a big fat L-I-E!   http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/nov/28/healthandwellbeing.health1

Curvation Nation

Curvation may just be a Walmart brand of bras, underwear, and clothing, but they are making great headway into the new movement of teaching women to be comfortable and confident with their bodies. Curvation presents The Curvation Project Confidence Awards to recognize women who "personify and project the power of confidence through contributions to their local communities." The award is a $10,000 grant to put towards their program to help continue their work in building women's confidence. Queen Latifah, one of the most beautiful women ever, is a spokesperson for the foundation. I found this site in an US magazine-ironic, huh? Check out the sight to find out more! http://www.curvation.com/pc/awards.php

Plus Size-Or Normal Size?

I will admit that I am an avid America's Next Top Model viewer, and I have no idea what makes this show so addicting, especially when most of the women are twigs. Anyway, while watching last season's show, I became attached to Whitney Thompson-she was the most naturally beautiful one, she had great personality, and her photos were fabulous. I immediately found myself crossing my fingers for her to get the win. Whitney did go on to win Next Top Model for that season, but the reason it made so many headlines is because she is the first "full-figure/plus size woman" to ever win ANTM. You can see on this page a photo of Whitney and she looks anything but "plus size." Given, they may have airbrushed and edited the bejesus out of her pic, but she is gorgeous without all of that. So many teens have written to her thanking her for her courage to stand up against the media's standards of beauty. I look up to Whitney for this too, and she should be seen as a beautiful woman...not a beautiful plus size woman. Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes, that is just what is natural. Each shape is beautiful, and maybe we need someone like Whitney to remind us 0f that. http://www.nypost.com/seven/05152008/tv/a_plus_model_110903.htm