About Fat

I used to be extremely underweight as a kid and was teased about it a lot. Even when I became an adult, people who would never be rude enough to tell somebody they were fat would feel free to tell me I was skinny. Now I weigh what the charts say I should.

Today lots of people, including children, are overweight because of junk food and lack of exercise and that has become a major health problem in the United States. Of course obesity isn't good, but lots of people, especially women, seem to think they should be extremely thin to be attractive.

The movie star, Marilyn Monroe, who used to be considered one of the most beautiful women in America was famous for having bust, waist, and hip measurements of 38, 28, and 38 inches. Today lots of people would consider her fat.

If we look back at the famous paintings of beautiful women from the Middle Ages and of the Greek and Roman deities most of them would be considered overweight by today's standards.

I understand in the Bible the Hebrew word for 'glory'' was derived from the word for 'fat' because glory is what shows something is worthy of praise and only rich people could have enough food to become fat.

We all know it's important to get plenty of exercise, but some people aren't able to do that for various reasons such as health conditions and overwhelming time constraints. And using food for comfort isn't wise.

But women don't have to fit a certain mold in order to be beautiful.

And, yes, being extremely over - or under - weight can cause all sorts of health problems, but people should be valued for their character, not their physical appearance.