People Are Not OK With These Cosmopolitan Covers That Ignore The Relationship Between Obesity And Covid
Cosmopolitan UK is facing harsh backlash and mockery on social media for its latest issue. More specifically, for suggesting there is nothing unhealthy about being obese, prompting accusations that the magazine is endangering lives amid the pandemic.
It featured photographs and interviews of 11 women who represented the different sizes of healthy, with a sign that read: “This is healthy! 11 women on why wellness doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all.”
Image credits: RitaPanahi
First, we need to settle on the definitions. “If we’re to listen to the World Health Organization, people are overweight if their body mass index exceeds 25 and obese if it is over 30,” general practitioner, medical researcher, and founder of PrimeHealth Clinical Research, Iris Gorfinkel, M.D., told Bored Panda, adding that this measure has its problems.
“The body mass index does not take into consideration muscle mass, it only considers height and weight. So that’s a bit of a problem. You know, better research is showing that, in fact, health outcomes are more associated with waist circumference. So people with big thighs and hips do not have the same health outcomes as those with big waist circumference.”
“It’s called visceral fat. That’s like a spare tire sitting on the waistline, that’s what predicts poorer health outcomes. And that’s what surrounds our liver, pancreas, stomach, and intestines. It turns out, the more visceral fat a person has—that’s what you can pinch on your waistline—the more fat surrounds the heart … and that is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.”
Cosmopolitan published photographs and interviews of 11 different women with a sign that read: “This is healthy! 11 women on why wellness doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all”
Image credits: RitaPanahi
The publication said that yoga teacher Jessamyn Stanley has become a “superstar in the American wellness industry thanks to her inclusive attitude.”
Stanley noted that she has embraced her body size and has learned to tune out “fatphobic comments” on Instagram where she has 450,000 followers and encountered drawbacks to the attention.
“I’ve had to accept that’s how the mainstream sees me and not try to change. For me, that’s been very therapeutic,” Stanley stated.
Influencer Callie Thorpe, for example, said that “Plus-size people often feel like they can’t be part of the wellness space. We are trolled for being fat, then can feel excluded from exercise because our bodies don’t fit the narrative.”
Cosmopolitan explained that Callie’s journey towards self-love started with her diet blog in 2012. “I thought if I made myself accountable to strangers, I’d [lose weight]. It made me feel worse than ever,” she explained.
Thorpe now adheres to the “body neutrality movement,” focusing on what her body can “do” rather than how her body “looks.”
Image credits: Cosmopolitan
But people on social media have a real problem with it
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“Obesity is a pitchfork that sticks into COVID-19 with three prongs. One is that obesity causes inflammation and increases cytokine levels. And that actually sets the stage for a cytokine storm in which the body’s own immune system attacks not only the virus, but the body’s own cells as well,” Gorfinkel explained. “So cytokine storm not only worsens pneumonia that COVID-19 causes, but directly damages lung tissue, in addition to causing acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS.
“A second problem is that fat in the abdomen, pushes up on the diaphragm, which makes it harder for a person to breathe and for the lungs to become fully inflated with air. And when the lungs are not fully inflated, the risk for pneumonia becomes higher—critical care specialists have learned to take advantage of that by placing sick patients on their belly because it helps oxygen get more easily into the lungs (that’s called pruning). When people are on their back, the weight of the body makes it harder for sections of the lung to inflate. And so a final problem. Obesity causes a slew of chronic conditions that increase the risk of being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19.”
The final problem is that obesity causes a slew of chronic conditions that increase the risk of being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19.
In fact, Since the pandemic took over the world, multiple studies have reported that many of the sickest COVID-19 patients have been people with obesity. In a meta-analysis published on 26 August in Obesity Reviews, for example, an international team of researchers put together data from scores of peer-reviewed papers capturing 399,000 patients.
They found that obese people who contracted SARS-CoV-2 were 113% more likely than people of healthy weight to land in the hospital, 74% more likely to be admitted to an ICU, and 48% more likely to die.
Image credits: RitaPanahi
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“The Cosmopolitan article says there is nothing unhealthy about being overweight. What I would add to that is that what has been extremely unhealthy is doctors’ response to being overweight,” Gorfinkel added. “Let’s take a look at the old school. A patient comes in. “You’re fat. I got the cholesterol I told you last year it was high. Well, guess what? It’s still high this year. You haven’t lost weight.” In other words, it’s asking the person what is wrong with them. That formula does not work. Guilt, shame, humiliation, we know that should not play a role in how any healthcare practitioner responds to somebody who is overweight.”
“The more enlightened way of managing it is actually asking permission. “Is now a good time to be talking about this?” “What are the challenges that you have faced in addressing you being overweight?” It’s not just a question of what’s going on medically, it’s very much a question of what’s going on socially, what’s going on, psychologically, too. That’s called the biopsychosocial method. And it makes a lot more sense. This way, the person in front of us becomes a part of the health team, as opposed to somebody that’s just being shouted at and being told, “What’s wrong with you? How come you haven’t lost the weight?” We know that food addictions are very much like other addictions. If we tried to do that with somebody addicted to opiates, or somebody’s addicted to alcohol, using negative emotions is tantamount to failure.”
Image credits: _traditionalis
This isn’t the first time that Cosmopolitan has made headlines by featuring plus-sized women. In 2018, the outlet’s cover starred obese model Tess Holliday. At that time, it was widely criticized for advocating for an unhealthy lifestyle as well.
Holliday, on the other hand, was unapologetic for her appearance and lashed out at the “horrible people” who were “whining about how me being on the cover of a glossy magazine impacts your small minded life.”
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I think people are confusing wellness with healthiness. You can feel well and be obese, good for you. But don't think it is healthy.
Aunt Messy, you are doing the exact opposite. People who are obese don't just ask for it. They don't wake up each morning and think, well let me overeat and not excercise today. It is a complex balance between predisposition, our current culture of too much of everything and vicious cycles that worsten the situation. But because I know that it's a fight to turn that around if it's even possible. And I don't feel people should be ashamed for something outside their personal control, doesn't mean you need to say it's healthy. No shaming, no senseless promoting, just understanding and helping. You are such a nasty person in your comments sometimes. Yuk.
Obesity at a certain point can be seen similar to a drug-addiction. You might have been aware when you started getting bigger, but at some point, the cycle is vicious and you don't get out of it easily. If you only see thin, beautiful people on a magazine, there is a point where you say "I'll never look like this. What's the point?" Some might feel the urge to get thin, but usually it helps if they see success-stories of people fighting against their weight and winning. Of TRUE stories that say that it's a struggle and that it's worth it but that it's a STRUGGLE. And you always start with a big body, and you need to get over your fear of being seen working out and of the fear of being mocked by others for working out.
The truth of the matter is that it's a hard addiction. Sugar is more addictive and more accessible than cocaine, we are forced into this addiction as children. BUT there is only one person that can decide to reduce their weight and that's the individual. By saying it's a disease and uncontrollable is an addict's lie. It is a chemical and behavioural addiction. There has to be a role for personal responsibility, because it's the only thing that makes change possible.
Lord Ponsonby no
@Amelija Janacicius, I am a lesbian and I weigh more than my friends and I'm fine with it. They never judge me for who I like or what I weigh.
Fatness is really "something outside their personal control"? No. You blame "current culture", but how do you think it became a culture under one generation? The fat people themselves started to promote it, not their parents.
It may also be caused by medications that they are on, and stress increases cortisol. There are many reasons why a person may be overweight, and it's never any of our business. We also don't know what they are doing to correct it. So many people look at an obese person and assume they never exercise, but it could be that the person is actually working on it and it just takes time to come off. We really need to keep our comments to ourselves, especially because it often does the opposite of motivate.
Many obese people don't overeat at all. Obesity can be the result of genetics, symptoms of another health condition, or a side effect of medications.
Yes, they do. I know people that eat too much by choince and do not exercise by choice. Having 100 (!) Kilograms too much od not a problem.
I don't see anything nasty about that comment. Your response is absurd. And nasty.
"No shaming..." "Yuk." Is there even an effort required to maintain cognitive dissonance anymore?
oh and amelijia ur, not a manager ur a community member
Rissie you're being an incredible enabler. People who are obese, 99 times out of 100 DO ask for it. Blaming society and culture is an absolutely terrible excuse. MANY people find a way to lose weight and be healthy. It's nearly always a matter of will. If you don't have the will to do it that's fine, but it's important to call it what it is.
Ben Smith ?
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Rissie, I think that you may an excellent point. With regards to 'Aunt Messy (they certainly live up to their screen-name), it is best just to ignore them. They are troll known on this site for posting really mean-spirited, cruel, and out-right nasty comments. How they have so many up-votes manages to still shock and baffle me to this day.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife ?
uhm wtf is up with that one person in the comments below being extremely racist........? They're not BP content manager as they claim, in fact all they have on their profile is similar racist, fatphobic comments tf?
I believe that they are a disgusting trollbot. They have been creating different profiles, using faking photographs, and stealing the names of some of the Bored Panda editors. I'm guessing that they are a troll-bot, because they have been posting the same racist, sexist, and homophobic comment on every thread. I really wish that Bored Panda gave us a way to block specific users like this.
Let's compare blood test results, you skinny God of health. I bet mine are better than yours.
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I'm overweight and perfectly healthy. All my blood work is excellent. You can't tell a person's health by their size. Skinny people can be unhealthy, fat people can be healthy.
See I used to think that too. I was considered obese, with excellent bloodworm. The problem is, it's not just the health of all your squishy bits, but your bones and joints too. The added weight being carried all day puts unhealthy stress on your skeletal and muscle structure, I now have to deal widespread pain, that is aggravated by weight gain. I'm 55 and feel like I have been bulldozed every day, on bad days I can barely move. I lost 100lbs, have gained 40 back, and I can tell you the weight makes a difference. Being over or under weight, or yo yo-ing hurts and the damage can be long term, affecting us even after the weight is stable and within norms
Catlady6000 lol
theevolution69 ?
markmutai lol
Oh course, you are right to some degree. But obesity can kill and will kill due to many reasons.
It'll only work until you reach a certain age. With aging, obesity becomes a huge risk factor.
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Sure. They can feel well until they die. Way too early. For stupid reasons.
That is NOT healthy. Obesity kills.
Obesity kills 3+ million people each & every year. Its not sexy nor is it healthy to be 400+ lbs. It detracts from quality of life. Younger generations have tripled in average weights as previous generations. When I went to school, there was maybe a handful of "fat kids"...I graduated in 90s. America has come to rely on fast food, takeout & poor food choices. People should not be ridiculed, harassed or belittled for body size but we can't accept it as normal.
Cosmo is designed to reinforce the status quo and sell beauty products. If you are in any way interested in being healthy and/or empowered, stop buying this magazine.
Their double standards and hypocrisy is shocking too. There's widely publicised examples of their objectivity when it comes to talking about womens bodies but at the same time they post articles about the 'perfect' guys bodies and once even shared an article of zoomed in speedo crotches taken at a mens Olympic swimming event.
That is something we all need to know: Guys can be objectified. Guys can be abused. Guys can be harassed. Guys can be assaulted. The same things happen to every gender.
It's not shocking at all. Media will say anything, do anything, for money
This is a good point.
Agreed. As a preteen I always felt like my aversion to magazines like this meant there was something wrong with me. Now I just want to burn them all so young women don't read their damaging lies
Why is this downvoted? It is true. It's just more of what is not needed in today's world.
Yeah @jrgzingler have to agree, burning books??? Burning things you don't agree with leads you down a very steep slippery slope. Extremists of all kinds should be given a platform so intelligent people have the opportunity to dismantle their nonsense.
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Burning books/magazines? Ask yourself what makes you that?
i think they've come a long way, though. i believe it's their teen magazine that open talks about sexual health, positive self-image, etc. i might be mistaken, however.
You shouldn't hate yourself or your body for being obese, but it is definitely not healthy. Obesity can and will kill you.
Biana Vacker Good response!
We can all agree that pictures of airbrushed, photoshopped models are ridiculous, but the answer is not in pretending obesity does not have health risks.
I am an obese woman and this is my point of view. I hope that the intention of these articles is to encourage health and fitness for ALL bodies. But that's naive of me, I know. If you aren't obese you will never understand how intimidating and scary it can be to exercise in public. How hard it can be to find the gear and equipment that fit our bodies and most importantly how hard it is to deal with the toxic attitudes of society as a whole. What I take from this article that yes, EXERCISE IS HEALTHY FOR ALL SIZES. Obesity is a complex disease, and I applaud anyone who is trying for a healthy body. I wish we could all encourage and support each other in this pursuit, I think it will benefit us all. Now excuse me as I lace up my fat feet and head out for my daily 5k run.
E Robson, your comment deserves more up-votes and I think that more people need to read it. As you very well put, exercise is indeed healthy for all sizes, and I love how you mentioned that we should all support one another to get in shape. Thank you for sharing!
E Robson yes
You can start eating less or eating healthier,you will drop much of your weight doing that.Once you drop your weight you'll feel more self confident and probably more beautiful.Then you can go start exercising.I am not saying that people aren't toxic but most of the time you make the problem much bigger in your head than it is.People who exercise will judge you less than people who are not exercising.But for a start you could start exercising at home if you feel embarrassed.Don't give up,it isn't fun but people lose weight all the time.I wish you luck
I first became an EMT over two decades ago. Obese patients existed, but the majority of my patients fit on my stretcher. It can hold up to 350 lbs. I retired two years ago from the truck (I now only work in hospitals), and calling for the obesity stretcher became a daily thing, along with a back-up crew to assist with the lift. Once a month, we’d get a patient so big, we’d need an entire fire company to help us out. Luckily, I worked in private transport. I could wait, it wasn’t an emergency. But if you’re too big to move, and are having a heart attack or stroke (obesity greatly increases your chances of these, by the way), guess what? You’re probably going to die on scene.
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Anne Reid ?
Most commenters are missing the point. Instead of focusing on wearing a size 4, act in healthy ways. Exercise and eating "right" isn't the only ways to be healthy, and for many, the scale won't budge no matter what they do - short of starvation, which definitely isn't healthy. But to be a size 14/16 who can run marathons, or a size 24 who is a vegetarian yoga master is far healthier than being a size 2 who sits around eating fast food. Being sedentary kills faster than being plump. Most women in the US are larger than size 14. Yes, it's a problem. But kudos to Cosmo for showing heavier women who are doing more for their health, and being an example to other larger women. If these articles get a few women to start taking more healthy steps, how is it bad?
A size 16 that runs a marathon still has too much lipids going through their veins, they still wear out their knees and back out more than anyone. Also, no size 16 will run a marathon because of those issues. Don't shame, but also don't tell lies. Being obese is not healthy. At best it's only a problem that affects joints and ligaments, but the reality is that it most likely will affect way more. That doesn't mean it's a conscious choice to be overweight and it doesn't mean people can't make the best out of it, but it does mean obesity is not to be promoted as a positive thing. Let alone by people who act the exact opposite and only publish it just for sales.
Size 14/16 here. I've run a marathon, multiple half marathons and I do weightlifting 4days a week. My cholesterol is so low my doctor joked that she wasn't sure if there was a low point to worry about, my A1C is normal and my blood pressure is great. I'm much healthier than I was when I was a size 2 so it's more than just weight. Weight may often go with a sedentary lifestyle or poor eating habits but weight alone doesn't determine health.
Size 16. Never have run a marathon, but very fit and healthy. Til I turned 45. Now there are days I can barely move due to the stress extra weight put on my back and lower body. I would almost rather have dealt with diabetes and heart issues, saying that as someone who has never had to deal with these. I hope you sure one of those rare people, and stay healthy, fit and pain free, but it is rare
Marie, congrats to you for sure, but please realize you're the RARE exception and not the rule.
Hi, former obese person here. Lost over 100 lbs a few years ago. I've gain some back this year, but kept about 70 off. Trust me, if that vegetarian yoga master is a size 24, she's consisting on junk food every bit as much as that size 2 person. It's pretty much impossible to get obese on fruits and vegetables. And being sedentary is a bigger issue than being far, at least in the short term, but guess what? If you have to carry 100 lbs around with you for everything you do, that's going to cause you to be more sedentary because it's EXHAUSTING. I thought my lack of energy, poor sleep, joint pain, and inability to walk a half flight of stairs without getting out of breath were symptoms of my age because I was "healthy" and working out at the gym for 30 minutes every day. Nope! That all went away when I lost weight. Added bonus: changing my diet immediately fixed the IBS I'd been suffering from for over a decade.
Exactly! People who struggle with their health can be better motivated to make healthy choices by support and encouragement rather than by others' negativity.
Laura VanVliet follower
which there's way too much of, wherever you look
There's a distinct difference between encouraging overweight and underweight people to make healthy choices and blatantly claiming that being overweight isn't unhealthy. Cosmo is doing the latter and it's irresponsible and dangerous.
Fair point, if it gets one person off the couch...
It's a difficult one because whilst everyone should feel confident and comfortable within their own body, their health and life expectancy should be the main priority. Remember obesity doesn't always equal laziness and stubborness to exercise and eat healthily. Obesity can be the result of other mitigating factors from a range of health problems and ailments. I will never hold a torch though for those that are fat through choice at the same time seeing other fat people desperate to lose weight and unable to. But I do agress that in this instance, Cosmopolitan magazine has aimed to capitalise on sales by aiming towards the obese dollar which is terribly irresponsible. I don't think there is some mass conspiracy going on about these types of publications trying to create and maintain obese people but I do think there's something going on with the aim of keeping all these crank and shady fitness and weight-loss products in market. Kinda money, money, money over health.
It is a tricky balance. I have struggled with my weight, I will never be any smaller than a size 12 and I have to work much harder than some people to get in shape. HOWEVER I know it's important to continue to work toward a healthy weight and not let it define me.
Certain anti-depressants can affect the thyroid and this can cause weight gain. I know from personal experience. Fortunately, once I stopped taking the meds the weight fell off.
NOBODY is fat through choice, you moron! That's like saying being gay or trans is a lifestyle choice! But being accepting and proud IS a choice!
Fat people have told me they are fat through choice themselves!!! You can deny it all you want but they have literally opened their mouths and said that to me. I am carrying extra weight that I would love to lose right now but I'm not doing anything about it as I really can't be bothered due to other stuff going on in my life!
Are you joking? 99 times out of 100 being fat is definitely a choice. Is someone holding you and forcing you to eat? No? Then it's a choice. People are born gay and people may be born genetically predisposed to weight gain, but it's a choice to combat that or lean into it. Your comment is just silly.
@karin that's actually quite offensive.
Jonathan, being fat by choice or staying fat by choice are different things.
I know from personal experience how difficult it is to shift that little bit of extra weight and I try to limit the amount of food I eat. If you've really been trying and seeing no results it's so disheartening and you almost feel like giving up but if you continue to push through it then you WILL see some weight loss. Like most things in life, sadly or expectedly (delete as you see fit) you have to work hard for it. Willpower is a crazy thing that we don't all have. My partner is most definitely on the obese side of the scal and we both know it. But no matter how much healthy food I make us (I home cook EVERYTHING) there's no weight loss happening. He's been like this is the past, managed to lose weight but this time there's no motivation even though I point out all the health risks. To drum it into his head I point out the extreme health risks but he's not bothered. Thus this is a definite case of being fat through choice. I knida give up now, it's his body and life and I love him regardless so I just accept it much the same way as he does.
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It is EXTREMELY RARE for people not to be able to get to a healthy weight. Not all obese people have thyroid issues - in fact almost all of them DO NOT.
Not to be able physically, yes. But plenty obese people are unable mentally to lose weight. Many obese people, especially morbidly obese people, are that weight due to emotional eating or even eating disorders..So they might physically be able, but not everyone is mentally able. But the majority still is imho.
I really don't know why you have been downvoted considering you have basically stated a fact rather than an opinion.
This is a bad idea. It is definitely depressing how today's society's morals and ethics have changed. However, it is good to know that these women are exercising and trying to stay healthy and fit. I do believe this article is giving the wrong message, however.
Lying to people to make them feel good for a brief moment doesn't really help them.
@Museo yes, we have to be honest to some degree with people.
good thing making them feel horrible about themselves with every occasion we get is gonna make them healthy, though!
Also @Marina of course we shouldn't make them feel bad about themselves. Nobody deserves to be bullied. I think we shouldn't encourage obesity personally, but I never mentioned in my comment that anyone deserves to feel horrible. If someone is obese, that's fine for them as long as they are trying to be healthy and fit, and aren't using obesity as an excuse.
This is politically correct and sells magazines. Nothing more.
"This is how the left has warped so many minds: we’re told if we fail to celebrate obesity it means we hate obese people." So, they haven't. Having to rely on exaggerated strawman arguments to make you point says more about you and your perception of reality than it does about some 'leftist conspiracy.
JayWantsACat love
Obesity is not good for your health. Work on feeling comfortable in your body while you try to lose weight. You shouldn't hate yourself because you are obese, you should just work hard to lose weight.
I know we all come in different shapes and sizes and while I absolutely believe that fat shaming is wrong, it is also very dangerous to portray being obese as healthy
It is good to give strength to people with low self-esteem. But it is completely wrong to make them believe something false and lie to them just to sell them expensive beauty products.
Encouraging to wear those rose-colored glasses is a dangerous thing.
Why do people think that being overweight or obese is healthy? It's called OVERweight for a reason. Nobody deserves to feel ugly or unlovable because of their body, but we shouldn't be encouraging unhealthy people to stay as they are. We should be telling them how to make positive changes that'll improve their quality of life & likely boost confidence, too. Love yourself by taking care of yourself.
I don't (didn't) think anyone actually believes this... it's possible to be "plus sized" and healthy.... if you are like 5'10" ..it's possible to be over weight and still successful in life and attractive and happy ... but overweight and healthy? Nope.
The human skeleton isn't designed to carry so much extra weight. It reaches much the same limitations as a woman with oversized breasts that she eventually has to correct through surgery. Not to mention the mental health, energy and stamina aspect of it.
My aunt is very underweight and she is on a diet. She is losing her hair and not eating enough. So being skinny is not always healthy.
I dunno, did she try >gasp< NORMAL WEIGHT?
This is what's called a Red Herring Fallacy
Body-image positivity may be good for mental and emotional health but it sends kind of a destructive message by encouraging complacency in the face of morbid obesity. On the other hand, morbidly obese people seem to only rarely drop massive amounts of weight and get physically healthy, so why should they live their lives in depression and self-hate because they believe they're substandard people?
Excuse me for being ignorant because I don't read this magazine, but if we look at the cover as it is, we see women who are clearly overweight but who are - it's implied, but let's assume it's true - working out. YES, this is healthy! Working out IS healthy! And I'm sorry for all those thin and normal-sized people who feel soooo resonsible for the health of others, but you don't just decide "Oh, I don't want to be fat anymore" and suddenly you look like Meghan Fox!! You go through phases where you are still fat and you still look like a wobbly piece of flesh and the only difference is that you work out. And yet, even when you look nothing different from before your decision, you are doing something HEALTHY. If you see a wobbly ass walking in front of you, eating a sandwich, do you think "Wow, this woman probably came right from the gym"? Or do you think "Wow, what a fat cow. She should not eat that sandwich"? Be honest to yourself and think about your thoughts.
Do you, as a thin person, have ANY idea what it feels like getting your wobbly ass into a room full of fit-looking, healthy-looking, beautiful-looking people, wearing sweatpants that showcase every ounce of wobble you have and walk over to the threadmill? Even if everyone is absolutely wonderful to you, I assure you that it makes you want to sink into the floor and disappear. Now imagine what it would mean if people are NOT absolutely wonderful to you and sneer at your appearance! It is absolutely not right to tell people that being fat is healthy. That's like telling people covid is just the flu. But do we know what's inside the magazine? Do we know if there's pictures of plus-sized women doing healthy things - cooking well, working out, doing size-appropriate sports? Isn't that exactly what we need to encourage people to do? Do you think seeing thin, perfect models on the covers would encourage the wobbly cow to start working out?? Yeah, as sure as pigs can fly!
I've been thin my whole life I was overactive as child and active as a young adult then I got put on meds. I always wondered how people got so big. I could never understand it. I was ashamed of my mom cuz she was so big after the meds I gained 50lbs my husband called me fat and disgusting kids would make fat remarks I kept going up in clothes size. It's hard to lose weight I get so depressed and just eat my feelings sometimes I literally eat to hurt myself I want to work out but I'm so depressed I'd rather sleep or just smoke pot all day and numb myself of the pain that comes with being overweight it's terrible i totally understand now
Then the magazine should be more specific but they deliberately are ambiguous! I'm about 15 to 20 kilo's too heavy but I would never let myself go to be 100 kilo's over weight like some people, I don't understand why they don't react any sooner. It's also a myth that exercising a lot gets you to lose weight, you need to go on a diet for that and exercising helps but is not really required but will always be recommended because it's just good for your hearth and muscle strength. Eat the damn sandwich, but have some brown bread, light cheese/chicken, lots of vegetables and no calorie heavy sauce. ;-) Too bad decent food in the US is so expensive and the unhealthy calorie bombs from fast food chains are too cheap,
Sometimes we get big and it's really hard to lose it a lot of work a lot of reps and a lot of self control
Beauty is not a matter of weight. Health, however, is. If your weight is above or below a certain field, you just are more at risk. That might not be a problem for a person individually, but it is from a public health standpoint. When your doctor tells you to lose or gain weight, you should probably think about it. If someone else tells you so, you can tell them to go f... themselves.
I'm not saying anything about the correlation between obesity and COVID, but the correlation between obesity and type II diabetes, heart disease, etc is far from certain in the scientific literature. See this review article from the international journal of epidemiology (which is peer reviewed), in contrast to the figure in this article, which by the way has no citations. https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/35/1/55/849914
That guy that said "COVID is racist somehow," he's being dismissive. COVID itself isn't racist. The way we're handling healthcare is. The way that people of color have many valid reasons not to trust their doctors. The way that healthcare access isn't free. The way that this information isn't often spread to non-English-speaking communities. The way that the world is putting third-world countries last on the list for vaccine distribution. I could go on and on. Dr. Susan Moore, a Black doctor, died after having her health concerns dismissed in the hospital WHERE SHE WORKED.
Claire Conroy haha
And are these obese people mothers and fathers? When I look at really obese parents I get sad. I know it is very likely that they will die earlier than average and possibly leave the kids without a parent(s).
And the kids will have to take on adult responsibilities taking care of them and sadly obese parents raise obese children
I used to get really frustrated w my one friend because she had three kids and she would post pictures of shrimp in butter and then talk about her health problems i just would get so upset I had to close my Facebook. My mom died because she ate unhealthy at 48 so I didn't want that for her kids.
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Almost all children will end up parentless eventually. Get a grip.
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Why do I get downvoted for a fact?
I’m not sure of the message that’s being conveyed here...
I don't think the cosmo editors do either Aragorn.
Super skinny and silicone or obese... when has cosmo ever shown a "healthy" body type?
Huge study just published disproving all this rubbish. There is no such thing as fat and healthy. Period.
Here are some topics to look up. Who is affected by obesity. Who much does it cost in healthcare a year in your country. What are the effects of obesity. Who pays for obesity. There is just so many negative things associated with obesity but it seems as though the only thing that matters is feelings.
How* much
Becoming the size of a hippo is not healthy
I know that many youngsters nowadays call out fat shaming, my daughter is one. But they don't seem to get the difference between healthy overweight and unhealthy. If either of those two ladies could out run me or do better yoga poses than me, great. But they are also about 30 years younger than I am. Lugging the weight of another person around with you is fine when you're young, but if its still there in your 50s, you're gonna know it. I'm a couple of stone over where I'd like to be, I know that it's my own decisions, and I know that it's starting to tell on my joints, on my breath, on my tiredness. Just remember, it WILL only get harder, not easier, as you get older.
The HAAS (health at any size) movement promotes the idea that people of any size can pursue good health and make changes to try to be healthy. Not that it literally is healthy to be obese. It's not great for a magazine to promote obesity as healthy and it's cruel to expose these models to abuse, but come on, all obese people know it's not healthy. No fat person needs to be told or lectured or shamed into something they already know. Making people feel bad for their weight is pretty much the least successful way to get them to lose weight! Obesity is caused by numerous factors including many factors that are psychological, as well as things like gut flora (the links between gut flora and obesity are well-known; if you give a skinny person a faecal transplant from an obese person they very likely will become obese, and vice versa). It's proven that "will power" does not work. Obesity should not be celebrated but shouldn't be shamed either - it's an addiction like drugs or alcohol.
Not fat shaming is perfectly fine, but glorifying obesity is horribly wrong
Cat Good response!
sbecky990 yes
ari__ Good response!
If people want to be the size of a planet, that's up to them but to glorify them on a magazine front cover with the headline "This is Healthy" is simply astonishing and profoundly dangerous. Having damaged joints because our skeletons aren't supposed to carry that much weight, laboured breathing due to the lungs essentially being squeezed by fat and the very real danger of heart disease is NOT healthy. Like I said, if people want to be the size of an island, who cares, really. But shoving it into our faces and demanding we agree and if we don't then we're anti-fat (which is so ridiculous it's a struggle to accept that's a real term) and must be incredibly repulsive people is essentially dictatorship and I am NOT ok with that. At all.
For years and years, they glorified being the size of a stick, but that was okay..or?
I've been too thin my whole life and had anemia then I got put on meds and gained 50lbs now I am so miserable but no more anemia my husband would grab my belly and tell me I'm disgusting kids would call me fat it's a harsh world out there everyone wants you to be perfect. The cover should say "love yourself and each other and be healthy". Though I'm not healthy at all I'm working on it. It's hard I'm so used to eating as much and whatever I want and always managing my weight. I started working out for 21 hopefully that helps. Gotta change my diet but non organic food is disgusting and organic food is too expensive so it's hard to eat.
@Amelija Janavičius- you are f*****g vile.
I think that they are a "troll bot". They've been posting the same disgusting message on other threads. I wish BoredPanda would erase comments like that.
what is anyone buying magazines anyways
Noooooooooo! You want to tell women they are more than their body? Great! You want to say heavy people can still be attractive and stylish? Awesome! Love your body? Yes! But this?! What were they thinking?
You don't need to use the excuse of Covid to be disgusted by this but if it helps, that's good, too.
This is definitely not healthy.
No matter if it's covid or not it's NEVER healthy to be obese not even slightly overweight. It's very unhealthy and will cause a person to have a bad life plus a shorter one too. Last it's not nice to look at someone as obese as those women in Cosmo.
Or you lose a lot of weight, like, really a lot, say 100lbs, because, you know, good for you and get sick whereas you had no issues whatsoever when being overweight. Then it's called bad luck.
Yeah. I think that while you shouldn't shame people for being fat, when it's an unhealthy amount, like obese or morbidly obese, you shouldn't celebrate it.
People who are obese are discriminated against, berated, shamed, and sometimes bullied. No, it is not the healthiest. But many people, like myself, try to lose weight, and be healthier, only to constantly be brought down. Life does that enough. Twice I lost a great deal of weight, then broke a bone or had an illness, during which I regained the weight. The key is to get up and try again, but constant nagging, shaming, and berating does not help. Obesity does not mean you are stupid, imune to emotions, or unclean.
it's not just covid. Obesity is NOT NOT NOT healthy. OK you can have a few extra pounds thats ok but the women in the covers are obese. Their life could even be at risk. Stop this nonesense
Do you all think that if we had a choice between being obese or not, we'd choose obesity? Pointing at and making fun of overweight people is just a repeat of what we do/say to ourselves. For most of us, we try to exercise and eat right. Myself, I have multiple medical problems (including my thyroid) that makes it difficult to lose weight. Don't be smug. Of obesity and smugness, I'd rather be fat.
okay, but good for cosmopolitan for doing it at all, because it IS possible to be overweight (not necessarily obese) and be perfectly healthy. the timing isn't great, true, but it's a huge step for a magazine like that to do this.
As a woman I find this degrading. How many articles have you seen with obese men & media telling us its Healthy? I argument from obese women (I say women simply because its who I've heard use the argument) that "their doctor tells them they don't have high blood pressure or heart issues so therefore they are Healthy". As a smoker (cigarettes) I too breeze thru my checkups at drs office. No indication of any illness or disease...but in ten years I know how drastically that could change. I know smoking is unhealthy & with repeated use it will cause health Issues later in my life. Thats why I'm working on changing my future health emergencies. Obesity kills more than 3+,million worldwide. Obesity & obesity related issues kills 270,000+ Americans each year & that has been steadily on rise in last ten years. We should never accept obesity as Normal, Healthy, or pretend its something to idolize. I don't believe anyone should be shamed for the size of our bodies either.
Everyone, thin people get diabetes, osteoporosis (actually more likely), high blood pressure, etc, etc. The issue there is that thin people are not tested for these issues often enough. Just eat less! Exercise more! Idiots - do you honestly believe we haven't tried and tried and tried and tried....... "Oh, you just haven't tried hard enough" and what makes you an expert on someone's lifestyle? Do you measure their food intake, exercise times? New research suggests that losing weight temporarily lowers your numbers, but they start to go back up even if you keep the weight off. It is cruel to keep stigmatizing a condition that many people have no control over.
BMI is 19th century BS. It makes no provisions for different body types. The WHO moved the goalposts in the late 90s, throwing millions of normal people into the "overweight" category and millions of overweight people into the "obese" category. I have a 26-27 BMI and am NOT "overweight." My two aunts with similar BMIs are in their 90s. I just applied for my COVID vaccine yesterday and proudly answered NO to the "are you overweight" question.
... what is wrong with the lady who attributes this to "the Left"? What's that to do with being fat? Also, there is something between fat shaming and fat praising, and ... may surprise Cosmopolitan's authors ... you can respect and love people with weight issues without denying this being an issue at all. There is no body shaming in worrying about your loved ones who are obese, but this is something that should rather be discussed in private, not in public, which has the benefit of no shaming at all, without hesitating to be honest about anything. Fat shaming sucks, but that won't make obesity less dangerous.
Definitely unlikely this is healthy, though I must say. Some may have to choose between what is least unhealthy for them, say for example, a medication to an even worse problem that causes weight gain. Also our range for weight is very narrow, it's true that some of the people we could call a little chubby are in fact healthy.
The fashion industry no longer uses anorexic models they should use obese ones either.
There are a lot of comments about how hard it is for obese people to go to public gyms and find exercise clothing to fit. Exercises will help lose weight but the biggest thing is FOOD. you can lose weight without going to a gym or buying gym clothes. You can lose weight just by changing what you eat. A lot of people really need to stop with the excuses, take a good look in the mirror and take responsibly for themselves and stop blaming everyone and everything else.
If you truley love your body you would take care of it not abuse it or neglect it or ignore what it's trying to tell you. So many people are blaming everything other then themselves when it comes to their weight or completely accepting that they are obese and nothing can be done about it. It's sad. Very few people actually have medical conditions that cause weight gain. VERY FEW! Obesity effects everyone. Strangers on public transportation, employers who are responsible for health benefits. Tax payers ect ect. It's not right to shame people who are obese but it has gone way to far in the other direction. Normalizing it, celebrating it, promoting it even encouraging it. It cause so many health problems and cost billions of dollars a year in the U.S alone in healthcare costs. How about Canada where they have "free" healthcare. It's about 7 billion a year and tax payers are paying that. Something needs to be done and this is just wrong.
There is a difference between plus-sized and obese. Being obese is a medical condition that requires professional help to reverse. Being plus sized doesn't mean you're fat/overweight. The whole plus-size movement isn't about encouraging bad habits, it's about loving your body while working to achieve health. By commenting that someone is "unhealthy", you're not doing anything to help them. If someone is obese or overweight they are probably already working on their health. You do NOT get the right to comment on someone's health, because you don't know ANYTHING about them. If someone is "curvy" but is still in the normal weight range, then they may classify as plus-sized. Muscle weighs more then fat, so weight doesn't necessarily represent health. It's ok to not like someone's body, but it's NOT okay to comment on it. The main issue is that people comment AWFUL things about others' bodies, and all it does is make them feel bad an ENCOURAGE unhealthy weightloss habits.
Its fine to be a bit larger than average, but obesity is unhealthy, no matter how u slice it
I think what they are saying is it is healthy to love yourself. I mean look how happy those girls are. They don't care if they get judged
Just to do something for the sake of doing... either obese or very skinny, no average woman. Because that's two groups which attracts attention and sales of magazine. Maybe its a developed problem of our society (trained by very same magazines) that we are no longer interested in average. Give us Curves! give us skinny! Give us glossy skin! shimmering dresses! straight hair! edgy! its difficult to undo the damage that is done by extreme beauty standards
I think these people are assigning too much of a “one size fits all” ideology to people’s bodies. I’m not disagreeing with medical facts but a lot of these people seem to be blowing it out of proportion, just because someone isn’t skinny doesn’t mean they need to be coddled like vulnerable babies that could die if they go outside
Lazy Panda like
Don't hurt my feelings!
A fact for the comments here, and anywhere. If people feel good about themselves they make good choices for themselves. Which is why fat shaming doesn't work, because it makes people feel bad about themselves and stop caring about how they live. Also skinny people can be unhealthy too, you can't tell a person's health by their size. All you can tell is if they fit current beauty standards.
Problem is that media only seems to think there are two choices, obesity or unrealistically skinny/fit. How about they take pictures of people who are heavy but still healthy. Someone with subcutaneous fat, but not too much visceral fat.
Everyone knows "Cosmo" is a joke. They certainly have no idea which way is up. See their hypocrisy by googling "Gold Medal Bulges". Sigh.
Mindy Keys good
The question is whether "reduced obese" is the same as "never was obese to begin with". So far, the science on the subject appears to indicate that it's not. So haranguing obese people to become "reduced obese" may make them easier to look at, but if you want public health, you may want to prevent obesity in the first place - and that takes government action and regulation, rather than individual action.
Lara Mig -
Note to self. Do not read these comments. You will pure hatred for anyone who is not thin. You will find ignorance and exclusion on a level rarely seen elsewhere.
Amanda Black +
Amanda Black good
As someone who has been on both sides of the weight spectrum - both "obese" and "good BMI", I have to weigh in on this subject. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE SCALE!!!! IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT PANT SIZE!!!!! The scale may say you are overweight, but you may have more muscle mass than you do fat (muscle weighs more). Pant sizing is not regulated. I can wear anywhere from a 6 to a 12 depending on brand and cut. ALSO, mental health is as important as physical. I was depressed and suicidal when I was "ideal". I gained some weight but also my happiness level increased and am still alive, so does that make me "unhealthy"? Sure, by standards I'm technically "overweight" but I've found a balance between my mental and physical health.
you're completely right. I'm really sorry people use every excuse they get to be cinical to plus sized people, all in the name of "health" :( yeah right
You all know that it's not just "Obesity and Covid", right? It's also "Obesity and the flu", or "obesity and any minor physical ailment", or "just obesity". It's unhealthy to be fat. Period. It also exposes a whole mess of deep character flaws that should disqualify you from being treated as anything but the animal that you are. There is literally zero excuse. No, your undiagnosed "anxiety" is not the reason you're a fat ass. It's because you're a selfish, unambitious, a-hole that lacks self-control and self-respect. There is only ONE medical condition that can be used as an excuse. That's Prader-Willis Syndrome, and you don't have it. What you have is an unhealthy diet and unwillingness to excercise.
Is an eating disorder no longer a valid reason? Damn you're heartless.
Did you read the part where I directly addressed your undiagnosed "anxiety"?
No, it's a symptom. Also, it's not that I'm "heartless", it's that my heart is of regular human size, not grossly enlarged due to being a fatass.
Eric, an eating disorder is not a symptom. The word 'disorder' kind of gives it away doesn't it?
Doctors have a new acronym these days: TOFI. It means “thin on the outside, fat on the inside.” It’s an increasingly common phenomenon where thin people are getting diabetes, heart disease, and all the other ailments of typically obese people. This is because someone can be thin, yet not be healthy due to not exercising, and eating crappy food. So why can’t someone in a larger body, who eats nutritious, nutrient-packed, disease-fighting food, and gets plenty of exercise, be considered “healthy?” Seems to me they’d be a lot healthier than the “TOFI” people.
Because if you eat healthy and disease fighting foods you shouldn't be obese on the outside.
Laura, whilst you are correct, the risk of getting the diseases listen, even with healthy diet and exercise, is way greater with obesity than with 'healthy weight' people who have a crap diet.
Laura, I agree on that one indeed
Potatogamers2, thank you for a nice polite reply (as opposed to some of them!) To be clear, I'm not defending this magazine for writing a good cover story or for being correct, I'm just trying to bring up an interesting point about being thin, and about the assumed fact that larger people are inherently "unhealthy." I do think the magazine would have done better by saying something like "This is Beauty" (because it is) instead of "This is Healthy." But that just my two cents! Have a great day!
You understood a lot of things wrong. TOFI is meant much more literally as you are making it look here! It means that you literally have a lot of fat _inside_ of you. Not the fat under your skin you can easily see, but fat between your organs where it is most harmful. Now, overweight people do have this fat, too. You also seem to have a weird understanding of the word "nutrients" that is common in lifestyle media today. When you are overweight, you should not eat "nutrient packed" food. Nutrients are all substances from food your body can process and use for its bodily function. They are not inherently healthy. They are just useable. "Nutrient-packed" food is high calorie food. Fibers for example, are not nutrients. To eat healthy, you need a good balance of nurtrients not a lot of them!
F.H.- I was having this conversation with my doctor last week, so I'm repeating the information that I received from her. And what I meant about nutrients was choosing food based on the most nutritious calories- for example, choosing a nutrient-dense 100 calorie snack (such as a handful of almonds) versus an empty-calorie, unhealthy 100 calorie snack such as a handful of potato chips. I think it was pretty obvious that I meant that. And not "weird." Sheesh.
I see someone is making excuses for not dealing with their own morbid obesity. Fat kills. Period. That is not a debate. It is not worthy of discussion. It is a statement of fact. You will die if you do not stay at a healthy weight.
Everybody dies at the end. Obesity can be one of the causes or contributions for an earlier death. It is not a guarantee. Obese women who eat healthy and excercise are doing healthy things and should be supported and cheared. Once you're very obese, it's extremely unlike you will ever be skinny. Prevention is important. Not bashing women who do healthy things.
Dionne den Herder what
Aunt Messy, are you responding to my comment? That's a little weird. I'm merely commenting on what doctors are seeing in clinics these days and posing a question. And it's pretty strange that you think I'm morbidly obese having never seen me. I'm 115 pounds, so I'm pretty sure my doctor would disagree with you.
Wow, Aunt Messy you really are a judgemental and cruel person to say that someone is "making excuses for not dealing with their own morbid obesity." Do you: a) know this person; b) are their doctor; c) are their nutritionist . YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO POLICE SOMEONE'S BODY. Go slither back to your troll hole.
Yes- you are correct. And being direct, and blunt-that's what you need sometimes. It's everything in a nutshell. Tell it like it is. I would guess you are the kinda gal who does not tippy toe around the subject, you just come right out and "say it". That's just you. I did, just make a comment about how we shouldn't judge, and need to be kinder to each other, (see my comment above) and I still feel that way. However, we also need those comments that are able "to cut to the chase", even when they can upset some people; when they are done without being rude and overtly aggressive, which your comment is not. My husband, is a very blunt person, and I am more of a "tip toer". But" tip toeing" doesn't always cause people to think-some people need it "laid out there". I just wanted to say that I respect your delivery-and you know you are going to get some negativity for it.
Perhaps the obese woman, even though eating nothing but nutrient-packed food, is still consuming more calories , than she is expending? Her nutritional diet is absolutely helping her be healthier than she would be, if she didn't eat so well. And I am sure, the healthy diet is is negating some of the damage to her body from being obese. And- with such a healthy diet, if she does take in less calories, than her body requires , to maintain her current weight ,at her activity level, she has a better chance than most to loose the weight. But she still needs to loose the weight to be truly healthy.( Health problems do exist, that cause obesity, no matter what you eat-or how much you eat. In most of those cases, both the health problem, and weight problem can be medically solved.) I think the problem is, you never know, what an individual is going thru, or has gone thru, so you should not judge them on their outward appearance. We need to be kind to each other. And supportive.
fat doesn't mean unhealthy, and skinny doesn't mean healthy. Bad article.
I'm so fed up with these hypocritical bullies who pretend to be well-meaning saints. And to all of you who downvoted Little Wonder because they said they're perfectly healthy although they're overweight, those who think they have to make a politely written opinion disappear just because they don't agree: Go and feed your inferiority complex somewhere else, you pathetic trolls.
Bored Panda, you should be ASHAMED for publishing this junk article - put together by 2 MALES nonetheless! That clearly didn’t even read the Cosmo articles! Jessamyn, for one - whom I have been following for YEARS - does yoga multiple times a day and eats well! The ignorant comments on Twitter that the two ingrate ‘authors’ of this pulled aren’t people that actually bothered to read the articles either! You all should be embarrassed.
If what you're saying is true, Cosmo's cover picture is misleading, which is unforgivable. Without context, they just wrote "this is healthy" on the pics. And it doesn't matter if you do yoga or "eat well" (whatever that means), if your diet fails to erase the fat around your intestines, you're at risk.
This is some bigoted crap. There is no link between covid and weight, that theory was found to not be true. You can absolutely be metabolically healthy regardless of body size. You know what kills fat people, medical bias like what we see in this post. Fat patients are more likely to be refused care or receive substandard care due to medical bias.
Joanne Marrs follower
Great article, Bored Panda, about skinny white women fat-shaming women who are comfortable with their bodies. You should do a follow up on how unhealthy and what a Covid risk it is to be black.
Jim Evans lol
These mags aren't saying obesity is healthy, if you look closely, the women are doing yoga stands or an exercise pose. That is what they are meaning is healthy.
What? People on social media don't like something so now they are outraged on Twitter? You don't say!
Why does Lyndsey Fifield the that “fat is healthy” is left-wing or right-wing?
Damn, it is frankly MIND-BOGGLING how twisted people's response to this messaging is! The point is that people can take steps towards health, regardless of their body size. And that fat phobia and fat-shaming often lead obese people to avoid "wellness" related spaces like gyms, yoga studios, etc. And also, no one except someone's doctor has the right or ability to judge someone else's health or fitness. And frankly, no one should be commenting on strangers' bodies, either! Smdh
I grew up fat and experienced a ton of bullying surrounding it and to tell you the truth, I'm glad I did. Guess what? My family was poor - at times we had no food at all - and I was still fat. It's literally a product of poverty and limited access to healthy food for so many people. This subject always smacks of classism to me, having the experience I do. A lot of you need to reassess your empathy level and f**k off with your judgements
I've long been disappointed with Bored Panda repeatedly publishing mildly fatphobic content, but this one is the worse. Like, do we need a new weight loss transformation every week? There are so many good wholesome things to look at that don't involve putting so much pressure on people to lose weight. And YES you can be perfectly healthy and be the size of the two models on the cover. Anyone saying otherwise is in fact fatphobic. Ya'll don't know these people's health or diet or exercise regimen. Look inward and ask yourselves why you're so ready to tear people down for naturally carrying more weight. YOU CAN BE FAT AND BE HEALTHY. Please do actual research instead of listening to fatphobic propaganda online.
It's important for body positivity to come from a fashion magazine after years of unrealistic expectations set forth by the fashion industry. Obesity is associated with many health problems, but there's no reason a person with that condition can't be a cover girl.
Can people just mind their own business? If someone is fat I promise they know. They’re not stupid or blind. No need to point out the obvious. So sick of pretentious people telling others how to live their lives. Unless you’re perfect, mind your own business!
Obesity is a public health issue in many countries of the world. No, we can not just stop talking about it and claim it's not a problem. The challange is how to make it not a problem without shaming people.
Exactly. Unfortunately we live in a world that has become super sensitive where feelings are the most important thing. Fat shaming and bullying is definitely not good but something has to be done. Sadly, obesity effects everyone in many different ways. Even people who are thin and fit.
Not everyone that talks to others about their weight issues is doing it to be callous, some people genuinely care enough about them to make them want to better their quality of life.
Obesity effects everyone! It's sad but true. The obesity rate is constantly going up and is costing billions of dollars a year in healthcare and that just in the U.S alone. Fat shaming is not good but neither is normalizing or celebrating obesity.
I notice that when celebrities advocate that (their) obesity is healthy, normal, and something that should not be criticized, nobody says anything. But when a magazine says it, the world feels empowered enough to express its outrage.
That's not true at all. Look at Lizzo for example.
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Good to see that fat hatred is alive and well in the USA. Congrats for hating poeple who are having a tough time. F you guys.
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This is pandashit
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I love how up in arms everyone gets when fat people stop beating up on themselves and torturing and mutilating themselves! And how everyone pylls out the "Oh but it's so unhealthy for them" flag and waves it around. Your not all upset because someone is being "unhealthy"! Your all upset because a fat person isn't miserable! If you were truly concerned about the health of fat people, you would educate yourself on the REAL dangers affecting us! Like the MULTI-BILLION dollar weight-loss industry be discouraging ripping people off internationally, the use of the very unscientific BMI scale, the stigma against fat people throughout the health care world that causes pain and death to thousands of fat and thin people every year. You would pull your heads out of your assets and see how badly you are hurting the people around you, both fat ans thin!
So how much is obesity costing your country a year in healthcare??? BILLIONS! a year just in the U.S.
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It depends what you mean by "this is healthy". Are they referring to the woman's weight or to the exercise she's doing?
They mean the woman.
Not the woman but the figure, otherwise it'd have been 'she is'.
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This article and the comments are an extension of fat shaming and suppression of women. The truth is that no matter the subject, people will criticize and condemn. I think that being inclusive is healthy and that talking about wellness is a more successful model.
I don't see it as fat shaming but as magazine shaming..
No that's not true. People can not be shaming you when they try and help you. To twist a caring persons wanting to see you be the best you you can be is just wrong.
Stephanie Keith haha
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Guess what? I'm 284 pounds and literally in perfect health. Like not even exaggerating, my doctor says I'm in perfect health. I diet, I exercise, but due to an underlying medical condition, I don't lose weight. And everyone who has an issue with this magazine cover is ignorant, insensitive, and entirely missing the point. Every body is valid. Any size CAN be healthy. Not every size is healthy, people have individual differences, but you can be healthy and still not be the size that is deemed socially acceptable. Stop commenting on anyone else's weight or size. It's none of your f*****g business. You care so much about obesity? Then focus on your damn self and your weight and stop commenting on others
Laurel Parrott what
The amount of people that actually have medical conditions that cause weight problems is extremely low. Also obesity effects everyone. Not just the people that are overweight but seriously EVERYONE
I think people are confusing wellness with healthiness. You can feel well and be obese, good for you. But don't think it is healthy.
Aunt Messy, you are doing the exact opposite. People who are obese don't just ask for it. They don't wake up each morning and think, well let me overeat and not excercise today. It is a complex balance between predisposition, our current culture of too much of everything and vicious cycles that worsten the situation. But because I know that it's a fight to turn that around if it's even possible. And I don't feel people should be ashamed for something outside their personal control, doesn't mean you need to say it's healthy. No shaming, no senseless promoting, just understanding and helping. You are such a nasty person in your comments sometimes. Yuk.
Obesity at a certain point can be seen similar to a drug-addiction. You might have been aware when you started getting bigger, but at some point, the cycle is vicious and you don't get out of it easily. If you only see thin, beautiful people on a magazine, there is a point where you say "I'll never look like this. What's the point?" Some might feel the urge to get thin, but usually it helps if they see success-stories of people fighting against their weight and winning. Of TRUE stories that say that it's a struggle and that it's worth it but that it's a STRUGGLE. And you always start with a big body, and you need to get over your fear of being seen working out and of the fear of being mocked by others for working out.
The truth of the matter is that it's a hard addiction. Sugar is more addictive and more accessible than cocaine, we are forced into this addiction as children. BUT there is only one person that can decide to reduce their weight and that's the individual. By saying it's a disease and uncontrollable is an addict's lie. It is a chemical and behavioural addiction. There has to be a role for personal responsibility, because it's the only thing that makes change possible.
Lord Ponsonby no
@Amelija Janacicius, I am a lesbian and I weigh more than my friends and I'm fine with it. They never judge me for who I like or what I weigh.
Fatness is really "something outside their personal control"? No. You blame "current culture", but how do you think it became a culture under one generation? The fat people themselves started to promote it, not their parents.
It may also be caused by medications that they are on, and stress increases cortisol. There are many reasons why a person may be overweight, and it's never any of our business. We also don't know what they are doing to correct it. So many people look at an obese person and assume they never exercise, but it could be that the person is actually working on it and it just takes time to come off. We really need to keep our comments to ourselves, especially because it often does the opposite of motivate.
Many obese people don't overeat at all. Obesity can be the result of genetics, symptoms of another health condition, or a side effect of medications.
Yes, they do. I know people that eat too much by choince and do not exercise by choice. Having 100 (!) Kilograms too much od not a problem.
I don't see anything nasty about that comment. Your response is absurd. And nasty.
"No shaming..." "Yuk." Is there even an effort required to maintain cognitive dissonance anymore?
oh and amelijia ur, not a manager ur a community member
Rissie you're being an incredible enabler. People who are obese, 99 times out of 100 DO ask for it. Blaming society and culture is an absolutely terrible excuse. MANY people find a way to lose weight and be healthy. It's nearly always a matter of will. If you don't have the will to do it that's fine, but it's important to call it what it is.
Ben Smith ?
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Rissie, I think that you may an excellent point. With regards to 'Aunt Messy (they certainly live up to their screen-name), it is best just to ignore them. They are troll known on this site for posting really mean-spirited, cruel, and out-right nasty comments. How they have so many up-votes manages to still shock and baffle me to this day.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife ?
uhm wtf is up with that one person in the comments below being extremely racist........? They're not BP content manager as they claim, in fact all they have on their profile is similar racist, fatphobic comments tf?
I believe that they are a disgusting trollbot. They have been creating different profiles, using faking photographs, and stealing the names of some of the Bored Panda editors. I'm guessing that they are a troll-bot, because they have been posting the same racist, sexist, and homophobic comment on every thread. I really wish that Bored Panda gave us a way to block specific users like this.
Let's compare blood test results, you skinny God of health. I bet mine are better than yours.
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I'm overweight and perfectly healthy. All my blood work is excellent. You can't tell a person's health by their size. Skinny people can be unhealthy, fat people can be healthy.
See I used to think that too. I was considered obese, with excellent bloodworm. The problem is, it's not just the health of all your squishy bits, but your bones and joints too. The added weight being carried all day puts unhealthy stress on your skeletal and muscle structure, I now have to deal widespread pain, that is aggravated by weight gain. I'm 55 and feel like I have been bulldozed every day, on bad days I can barely move. I lost 100lbs, have gained 40 back, and I can tell you the weight makes a difference. Being over or under weight, or yo yo-ing hurts and the damage can be long term, affecting us even after the weight is stable and within norms
Catlady6000 lol
theevolution69 ?
markmutai lol
Oh course, you are right to some degree. But obesity can kill and will kill due to many reasons.
It'll only work until you reach a certain age. With aging, obesity becomes a huge risk factor.
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Sure. They can feel well until they die. Way too early. For stupid reasons.
That is NOT healthy. Obesity kills.
Obesity kills 3+ million people each & every year. Its not sexy nor is it healthy to be 400+ lbs. It detracts from quality of life. Younger generations have tripled in average weights as previous generations. When I went to school, there was maybe a handful of "fat kids"...I graduated in 90s. America has come to rely on fast food, takeout & poor food choices. People should not be ridiculed, harassed or belittled for body size but we can't accept it as normal.
Cosmo is designed to reinforce the status quo and sell beauty products. If you are in any way interested in being healthy and/or empowered, stop buying this magazine.
Their double standards and hypocrisy is shocking too. There's widely publicised examples of their objectivity when it comes to talking about womens bodies but at the same time they post articles about the 'perfect' guys bodies and once even shared an article of zoomed in speedo crotches taken at a mens Olympic swimming event.
That is something we all need to know: Guys can be objectified. Guys can be abused. Guys can be harassed. Guys can be assaulted. The same things happen to every gender.
It's not shocking at all. Media will say anything, do anything, for money
This is a good point.
Agreed. As a preteen I always felt like my aversion to magazines like this meant there was something wrong with me. Now I just want to burn them all so young women don't read their damaging lies
Why is this downvoted? It is true. It's just more of what is not needed in today's world.
Yeah @jrgzingler have to agree, burning books??? Burning things you don't agree with leads you down a very steep slippery slope. Extremists of all kinds should be given a platform so intelligent people have the opportunity to dismantle their nonsense.
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Burning books/magazines? Ask yourself what makes you that?
i think they've come a long way, though. i believe it's their teen magazine that open talks about sexual health, positive self-image, etc. i might be mistaken, however.
You shouldn't hate yourself or your body for being obese, but it is definitely not healthy. Obesity can and will kill you.