When Is Big TOO Big?

So far, I’ve blogged mostly about healthy sized girls being told that they aren’t skinny enough. However, I haven’t had a chance to touch on the other side of the body talk spectrum. 

Most people have heard the saying, “Big is beautiful.” Yes, big is beautiful, but what I want to know is, when is big too big?

I spent my Saturday afternoon watching the movie adaptation of the musical Hairspray. The IMDB synopsis: 

“Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blondsky) teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show”

The movie is all about accepting diversity. The audience notices that overweight individuals such as Tracy and her mom are treated as outsiders because they stray from the skinny norm. Point of the movie: love yourself, be accepting of others, blah blah blah. 

Don’t get me wrong. The movie was amazing, and I enjoyed every minute of it. But, even though I do believe “big is beautiful,” from a health science perspective, I have to argue that there is a point that people should realize that being overweight puts them at a great risk for heart disease than the average sized individuals. I bodblogged before about pant size relativity; however, if you also took the time out to read the fact of the day article posted by the American Heart Association, you would know that excess body fat is a significant risk factor for heart disease. Obesity should not be overlooked at all, especially because it is so prevalent in super-sized, fast food face stuffing America. 

The Goldilocks Principle applies for body image as well: having a healthy body image is to not being sucked into one extreme: Being too thin or being too big is. “Healthy” is sitting comfortably in the middle.


For those of you looking to reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease, here are some things you can do:

• Know your waist circumference
• Ask your doctor about other risk factors (i.e. high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diet, and family medical history).
• Take actions to control risk factors with your doctors help
• For people living a sedentary lifestyle, get out there and get active!

Question of the day: When is big, too big?