Rethinking Weight Summary

Obesity has become an epidemic across the United States. Americans have continued to gain weight, increasing the amount of people that are considered obese by millions every few years. More and more experts have come to a consensus: weight needs to be addressed and changed in America. Many experts however have not found a way to completely solve this problem at large. In the article, “Rethinking Weight”, senior writer Amanda Spake directs attention to the barriers our society has built for obesity treatment. Through this attention, it becomes evident these barriers have developed from changing ideals in our society. Roberta Seid, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, argues in “Too “Close to the Bone”: The Historical Context …show more content…
Spake spends time to paint the picture of obesity that is caused by not being able to receive the correct treatments. She works to show the desire for opening up better treatments and quotes psychologist Kelly Brownell, “The ramifications could be enormous-for opening up better treatments, and to some extent for social attitudes toward people with this problem.” (Spake 155). Establishing how the change in social ideals will affect obesity, Spake makes it evident that obesity is viewed as negative and with a change in the social ideals about it the discrimination against obesity will become miniscule. Like Spake, Seid also expresses concern for the societal ideals around obesity. While she would certainly agree with these issues, she reveals that the idea of slenderness has become more of a religion. She asserts that Americans believe being slim is the only way to live life, and without being slim there life will be terrible. Seid mentions, “Like any religion worthy of the name, ours also has its damnation. Failure to follow the creed-and the corporal stigmata of that failure, fatness and flabbiness-produce a hell on earth.” (Seid 168). Americans feel as if they do not have the perfect body, life is ruined. “The “thin person with in,””(Seid 168), is a better version of themselves that Americans are always striving for because of the societal standards they are …show more content…
With this idea, Americans have changed themselves to try and fit themselves under a category of “perfect” in our society. Both authors reveal the pressure people, especially women, feel when talking about perfection. Spake quotes a Columbia University geneticist and obesity researcher, “Telling someone they’ve decided to become obese is like saying, ‘You’ve decided to give yourself a brain tumor.’”(Spake 156). She shows that people know that they are overweight and are trying to change that about themselves, but the public eye makes it even more difficult because some people are prejudice against them. Seid would likely agree with this statement and add that the societal views of perfection play the biggest role in this problem. Seid believes that the prejudice against obesity has come from the fashion changes and famous figures put in front of the public eye. She describes, “More recently, the Romantic vogue for slenderness in the 1830s-1850s encouraged young ladies to strive for the tiny waist favored by fashion-an effort later immortalized in Gone with the Wind when Scarlett O’Hara’s stays are tightened to achieve a 17-inch waist.” (Seid 169). In addition to the societal ideals, the public eye puts the pressure of being slim onto people. With fashion and celebrities being broadcasted in our society, people are taught to strive for