Health over appearance

If you are a young female or are overweight, chances are you’ve gone through a similar thought process.

I opened my Instagram account four years ago and, within months, found myself staring in the mirror and wishing I looked like the influencers who had gained massive followings for posting bikini photos. Prior to social media, I gave little heed to my body since I was not overweight and exercised. Now, my mind frequently wanders to how I look in my clothes and what other people think of my body, if my stomach is too soft, my ankles too thick, my butt too small, and on and on. 

My experience was not unique; a 2022 study found browsing social media as a young woman increased body image issues due to the number of likes thin and fit influencers received compared to ones with more fat. 

Mass media, particularly Instagram and Hollywood movies, are a breeding ground for body dysmorphia. It makes sense, given the most popular influencers and cinema stars are either can-see-bones skinny or are on enough steroids to die of a heart attack at 30. 

When I open Instagram to give my mind a break, I am bombarded with what-I-eat-in-a-day videos that always seem to start with a body check, “dietitians” discussing the quickest way to lose weight, or influencers dissecting why an extreme diet and hours of exercise per day is the ideal lifestyle. 

After scrolling through this type of content for years, I recognize the absurdity of much of it. To younger me, I’d say: Don’t start that fad diet to slim down, and definitely don’t listen to that guy talk about how to get 24/7 washboard abs — the magical ingredient is malnourishment.

The most problematic aspect of desirable bodies on mass media is viewers see the toned abs or thin legs, yet, don’t see the unhealthiness. The result is a young adult, at a proper weight but with more body fat than they want, putting their body through intense exercise and near starvation to achieve a particular look and realizing there are accompanying frailty, fatigue, dysmorphia and nutrient deficiencies unseen in a 30-second video. A skinny body is not inherently a healthy one. 

Similarly, the body positivity movement born to counteract the dangerous norm of extreme thinness is used to put protection around obesity. “All bodies are beautiful” can be true, but not all bodies will function as well or as long as the body of someone who exercises regularly and eats at their maintenance calorie limit. Society should remember overweight is inherently dangerous; obesity results in cancers, diabetes, strokes and more fatal health issues. 

I propose a change in narrative; rather than focusing on how my body looks, I will focus on my health, including weight, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure, because I aim to live several more decades. I anticipate most people do. 

I wish I spent less time as a young child prioritizing how my stomach and arms looked. As I age through high school, I understand more about my grandparents’ regrets about caring what others thought. 

Strangers’ passing thoughts are quickly forgotten and, if they aren’t a stranger, my looks are trivial compared to my personality and character. The rest of the world is more preoccupied with their appearance than anyone else’s. Stay healthy; death doesn’t care if you don’t have a thigh gap, but it does care if you are obese. 

Jackson Sneeringer is a senior at Carlmont High School in Belmont. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.