You are standing in front of the mirror after your shower. You critically look yourself over as your fingers pinch the fat that lines your belly. “I need to lose weight,” you mutter. Do you tell yourself this because you actually believe it or just because you have been brainwashed to? Maybe you are thinking [a]this because fat must mean unhealthy, ugly, and lazy among a long list of other destructive words. Did you know that body scrutiny has practically nothing to do with physical health, but everything to do with mental health? Even though many people justify and conceal their ‘constructive criticism’ as a concern for health, their words almost always do more harm than good to a person’s well being. We should stop systematic [b]body shaming because it is not about health, it promotes eating disorders along with depression, and normalizing self love results in confidence which leads to greater things.[c]
    

Has anyone ever asked you anything along the lines of ‘Should you really be eating that?’ or “You need to eat something! You’re just a sack of bones,”? [d]How did these comments make you feel? Did you ever even listen to them? The people who dish out these statements claim to just be showing their worry for someone’s health and diet. However, several psychologists suggest otherwise, saying that when someone makes a critical remark they are just trying to handle their own feelings. “Sometimes our natural response is to lash out at an easy target when we feel hurt or insecure,” Robyn Silverman explains (Gottlieb). This reaction may help the perpetrator feel a surge of power and distract them from their own feelings, but in the end they may feel worse
than before! In this scenario, both parties feel badly and there is no positive outcome. The solution is to break the cycle of shame by considering the feelings of others and how they might
cope with the feedback given.
   

When you contribute to systematic body oppression, you are promoting mental illnesses such as body dysmorphia, eating disorders, depression, and suicidal thoughts[e] (DeNoon).  Did you know that 13 out of 20 eating disorders are linked to bullying about weight or appearance (Gottlieb)? [f]Eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia and compulsive binge eating. Eating disorders are not solely related to size, they can also be caused by feelings of inadequacy and depression, which is again frequently linked to bullying. Critique like this results in isolation and the victim feeling like they’re worthless because they don’t look a certain way. However, looks are not always a reflection of physical health, and should not be scrutinized in the way that they are by media and the medical industry.
    

Contrary to popular belief, fat people can be just as healthy as people who are skinny, just as thin people can be unhealthy. We all have different body types, but there are 3 main categories. They are known as Ectomorphic (tall and thin), Mesomorphic (muscular), and Endomorphic (short and round). An Ectomorph can eat junk food all day and stay thin, while an Endomorph could eat only salad and workout religiously but still struggle to drop any weigh[g]t. Because of these different builds that can all be perfectly healthy, you should not base your opinions about someone’s health based on their size; your assumption could very likely be wrong anyway!
    
Confidence in one’s self gives them the power to take control of things that are more important. Researcher Aaron Blashill states “that there’s a strong link between how we feel about our appearance and our overall happiness, despite whatever shape or size we happen to be,[h]” (Gottlieb). If we were not conditioned by media to [i]think the way we do about our bodies, then feelings of self hate and doubt would not exist.
    

It is vital for us to le[j]arn kindness towards each other. We are alarmed by the amount of people who have depression and eating disorders, but we look the other way about finding solutions. Why not solve the root of the problem? If we are kind and accepting towards each other, we are taking a step towards ending self hate and starting a new generation of self love in which we understand that weight is not always correlated to health, we have lowered cases of mental illness connected to appearance, and people find the strength and confidence in themselves to accomplish their dreams regardless of their shape or size.
    
    

Works Cited
DeNoon, Daniel J. "Teens Who Are Teased About Their Weight Are More Likely to Commit Suicide." Teen Suicide. Ed. John Woodward. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. At Issue. Rpt. from "Weight Teasing Linked to Teen Suicide: Emotional Problems Trouble Teased Teens." www.WebMD.com. 2003. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
URL
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010026218&source=Bookmark&u=portland&jsid=40b42b4f6d44e5a61c748468fa7f0521
Gottlieb, Lori. "Body bullies." Choices/Current Health Sept. 2014: 4+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
URL
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/MagazinesDetailsPage/MagazinesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Magazines&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA379198557&source=Bookmark&u=portland&jsid=abe7fac17f52fef001504325c161806d
Sutherland, Elizabeth. "Fat Acceptance Promotes Well-Being." Can Diets Be Harmful? Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Fat Acceptance: When

Kindness Is[k] Activism." Feministe.us/blog 12 Sept. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
URL
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010463227&source=Bookmark&u=portland&jsid=68601f5a6be7de02933a70433505a195