What is fat?

Why the obsession over other women's bodies? Why not spend time focusing on ourselves? A good friend of mine sent me this article (http://jezebel.com/5924622/kate-upton-is-now-considered-fat) and while I read it through, it is not that unique. A celebrity has her big break, she is considered to be a beautiful woman, and then she has a bad day, week, month and we swarm on picking her apart. But it's not really a "we" who nitpick here, I believe it's women who do this to each other far more than men to do us. And the bigger question is, why?

Most of the time, we blame the media. The way models look, the way actresses are unattainably thin, and that we idolize them. Yes, this is partially the media's fault, but it is our obsession with it that makes these standards okay. And this creates a cycle where women feel that they have to look a certain way to fit in. I can only imagine that this his been a truth throughout time, with royalty replacing actresses, so what can we do?

When I was a senior in high school we were tasked with writing a research paper on the topic of our choice in order to receive the International Baccalaureate diploma. In the spirit of staying relevant, I looked at the correlation between eating disorders and teenage girls. I found that through an enormous amount of research there are varying levels of what could be considered "disordered eating" and "body dysmorphia", which while are not full blown eating disorders, they effect many girls and women. And what was the main cause of this? How looks are perceived in the media and a lack of self-esteem within women, which we help perpetuate.

So what can we do here? We need to value self-worth. We need to help other women see that what they look like does not matter when compared to health. Eating the right foods, in the right portions, while keeping healthy habits and exercising is what is important. Reading, knowledge, and understanding the world around us, that is important. Sticking our nose up at Kate Upton's potential weight gain is a waste of how far we've all come.