Concerns about Hollywood skinniness seem misplaced

http://jewishworldreview.com/ ^ | Betsy Hart

[manny613]

We seem to be watching a horror show of too thin Hollywood actresses. Or at least that would be the observation of anyone who even skims the tabloids, talk shows or People Magazine...

[manny613]

A must read for all parents

[hispanarepublicana]

I don't know what all these little girls are thinking, or who is prompting the "skinny is sexy" myth, but I can tell you that Mr. HR is IN LOVE WITH Rachel Ray from the Food Network. She is "average sized", and she never met a meal she didn't like. He loves watching her eat and enjoy her food, and she doesn't look like she rushes off camera to throw up after her meals, either.

[TheBigB]

What Lindsay Lohan did to her once-smokin' bod is a true tragedy.

[Lizavetta]

Most of the teenage girls I see nowadays are too fat. And for some perverse reason they wear clothes that accentuates their heft.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

How heavy can you get dining at restaurants (not fast-food ones) on "$40-a-day"?

[in hoc signo vinces]

Two words; "Jessica Simpson."

[hombre_sincero]

you have a great bio - sounds like the story of the founders of Ninfa's.

[sarasota]

Seems to me it's mostly the young women who are competing against each other for "the most thin". Well, except for Nicole Kidman who dropped additional pounds after becoming the spokesperson for Chanel No. 5. Oh wait, Laura Flynn Boyle...

[najida]

LFBoyle and Calista Flockhart are ER nightmares.
Ack!

I've ranted before on other threads....seems no woman is allowed to simply like her body.

[ClearCase_guy]

The focus is rarely on helping children to learn to say 'no' to themselves

A very important lesson which few parents seem to teach their children. Self-control and discipline are foreign concepts to many.

[TheBigB]

Hm. Even since she slimmed down to play Daisy Duke, Jess doesn't look as darn emaciated as Lohan, Olsen, Ritchie, and others. Jessica still looks fine to me. Others can disagree.

[dawn53]

I think kids should eat healthier than they do.

But there is a point in pre-pubescence when a girl or boy may appear "chunky," but it is just a passing phase.

My kid was always "rail thin," but that's just genetics. But I've seen his cousins go from plump 10 year olds to trim and slim teenagers without changing their eating habits.

I asked our pediatrician about this and found there is a point where it is natural for kids, to "plump up,", so to speak, but if their eating habits are proper, they will grow taller, and once again appear at normal weight as teenagers.

If I had a girl, or boy, who was experiencing this normal weight gain, I'd sure want them to know that it is normal, and not be trying to diet at that age.

[raybbr]

But the real crisis is that America's youngsters — or more accurately their parents — don't worry enough about their weight, and so we have a crushing youth obesity problem. I can't help but note the irony of reading an article at the pool about the horror of these skinny actresses and what that impossible standard is doing to America's youth, then looking up and seeing one obese youngster after another parading by me, often with ice cream and french fries in hand.

So, Hollywood's obsession with skinny seems to be having very little effect on our youth.

I do know one thing — for our pop-culture to spend time bemoaning the skinny Lindsay Lohans of Hollywood, instead of a dangerous and growing culture of childhood obesity, doesn't help anyone.

Pretty good point. But, the people who decry any mention of obesity as a problem will still point to Lohan and say, "She's way too skinny. Why is our nation obsessed with skinny people?"

We're not. Apparently, we think fat is better than skinny or even healthy. I don't. I would rather roll around with a healthy girl than a fat one any day.

I don't want her...

You can have her...

She's too fat for me.

Hey!

[misterrob]

It's an urban thang....

[NaughtiusMaximus]

No one is allowed to like their body.

Liking your body essentially sabotages a billion dollar industry which makes its huge bucks by promising physical improvements well beyond all possibility of attainment or achievement.

(The key is to laugh at them and keep your money in your pocket.)

[pollyannaish]

Rachel Ray is one of our household's favorite celebrities...We love her shows...and her food!

[lasisra]

The article's point is that we are letting ourselves be distracted by the focus on skinny celebs and ignoring our increasingly fat kids. (It's interesting how the first replies to this thread illustrate her point!)

Here's where she hits the nail on the head, IMO:

"It's also, I'm convinced, due to kids who rarely if ever hear "no — you can't" when it comes to just about anything in their lives. Whether it's venting every emotion at will, scooping up the latest videogame or having multiple servings of fries and ice cream at the pool, many of today's children are too used to pursuing and satisfying their every appetite. No matter how unhealthy those appetites are."

Now think about this not only in the context of childhood obesity but also behavior problems, poor academic performance, teen drug use and sexual promiscuity, etc.

If you don't say no to your kids, and teach them to say no to themselves when appropriate, you're dooming them to a life of failure. Period.

[HamiltonJay]

I feel the same way about Amy Wynn Pastor... Meow. Cute as a button and can build anything... what more can a guy ask for?

[tophat9000]

The story trys to make the point that Concerns about Hollywood skinniness seem misplaced because Youth obesity rates is the really problem...Personally I think these problems go hand in hand... the kid that quest for unnatural skinniness end up with a screw up metabolism and bad eating habits that in that long run help make you overweight...crash diets strip on muscle that burn fat... there truth to the YoYo diet problem...

[gman992]

But, then...who in the world wants to date someone whose fat? Oh...I forget personality matters...