On Being Healthy: What does it mean for women?

On Being Healthy and Fit:

What does it mean for women?

Written By: Gloria M. Matthews

Every day the media portray the misleading images of young women who are thin and fit.  Women are often intimidated by their weight and are constantly thinking, “I can never be that size.”  Or  “Its unhealthy to be thin.”  Or “I wish…”  Now, as a full-time mother of one and a part-time student (currently taking time off due to health concerns), I find that women often compare themselves to their peers secretly to themselves.  However, we must first examine what does it mean to be healthy and fit and what are the standards.

According to Womenhealth.gov, “Healthy eating and physical activity goes hand in hand.”  It all begins with what we eat, how much we eat or consume in a day, as well as how much physical activities we do or participate in.  Now the recommended calorie intake is really based on your weight and how much physical activity you participate in.  However, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, “Calories consumed must equal calories expended for a person to maintain the same body weight.”    The guideline also points out that Americans are “calories imbalanced” which has contributed to the growing concern of obesity among many Americans, young and old.  Now what do I mean?  In nonprofessional terms, do not take in more calories if you are not a very active person.   The key to keeping weight off and maintaining a healthy weight lies in the measure of your Body Mass Index also read as BMI.

Your BMI pretty takes your height and weight to determine if you fall into the following categories:

• ·         Underweight                                     = < 18.5
• ·         Normal (healthy) weight                    = 18.5 – 24.9
• ·         Overweight                                       = 25 – 29.9
• ·         Obese                                              = BMI of 30 or greater

To give you an example I will use my own BMI calculation, which you can go to http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.   Now I am 5 feet 3 inches and I typically my weight fluctuate from 115 to 127.  Therefore, that means my BMI at 115 is 20.4 and at 127 it is 22.5.  If you take my BMI and look above, you can see I fall within the healthy or normal range for my body type.

Knowing your BMI will point out to you some of the health concerns associated with being overweight and obese.   It will also help in taking the necessary steps in losing weight the right way.

Now what does this mean for women?  It means, if you are still young and you are gaining weight or already considered overweight or obese, know that as you get older, you will be facing serious health issues and a potential short-lived life.  Most women who pride themselves in being BBW (Big Beautiful Women) tend to take pride in their curves.  However, I must say you can still be curvy like Jennifer Hudson who just lost 80 pounds just off Weight Watchers Plus system.  Yet the media is jumping the bullet saying she is “too thin”, in my opinion, I think she looks healthier and fit.   Nevertheless, most importantly, she did it for herself.  She made a statement that is general, “If you don’t like something, change it.”  For women, we need to take more control over our bodies.  Body Image tends to be a huge issue with many of us as females.  

Part 2

Body image, what is it?  It is how you perceive yourself in the mirror.  I believe womenhealth.gov has a well-rounded definition of it - “With a positive or healthy body image, a woman has a real perception of her size and shape. She also feels comfortable with her body. With a negative body image, a woman has a distorted perception of her shape and size, compares her body to others, and feels shame and anxiety about her body. Being unhappy with your body can affect how you think and feel about yourself as a person. A poor body image can lead to emotional distress, low self-esteem, unhealthy dieting habits, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Developing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman's happiness and wellness.”  With this being said, some women have grown accustomed to cultural belief that it is ok to gain weight and that it is a part of growing older whereas some women who have struggled with weight all their life, just give up on being active without seeking the necessary answers to help with learning how to balance our their lifestyles.

As a huge fan of the Biggest Loser, I learned that people who are overweight suffer more than just the physical aspect, but emotionally and mentally they are struggling with issues that they refuse to face or acknowledge that its part of the reason why they represent a huge percentage of obesity in America.  Many of the issues that came up was death of a lost one, being entirely selfless  and putting themselves last, taking on a busy lifestyle that leads to inactivity and no you time.  It is a dangerous combination.  Currently, everyone is struggling with something.  With the economy hitting the American people hard especially families, food and gas prices on the rise, what does that say?  To me, I look at it from the perspective of buying less food and a reason to get out and start walking and/or biking more.  Use the car only for major car trips.  Buying less food means, you can lessen the pressure on farmers who are falling behind is producing the necessary amount of food that people have increased their consumption on particular produce and foods.  You can also get creative by learning how to curve the hunger to eating less and working out equally well, just do not overdo it.   One of the tips on the Bigger Loser is to chew gum to curve your hunger and snack on fruits or low-fat yogurt.  It is a great tip in my opinion.

If you are concern about your well-being as a woman, go to your local health care center on-campus (if you attend college) or see your doctor and express your concerns.  Do not let yourself get too unhealthy that in the end it will cost your family $2,500 or more to bury you.  An article published by Fox Business (http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/12/01/effects-obesity-pocketbook/) will pretty much reveal the cost that comes with it.  Remember, each state differs in cost when it comes to dealing with how much obesity really costs.

As for women who are within the healthy BMI range, but struggling with other health ailments, talk with your medical profession and discuss if stress plays a role in not feel well.  Some women are built to handle stress well while some are not.  What we as women need to understand is that we all deal and react differently to many different issues in life.  What may seem and appear to be a simple solution to one, may be a complex one to the other for other implications could be playing a huge factor in finding the right solution.  Sometimes it helps to seek out a third party such as a counselor, to get an outsider’s perspective on how to best deal with your situation.  Sometimes as females we tend to come across as being judgmental to each other because we all have different strengths and weakness, and sometimes we view one as weak when they are not measuring up to the high ideals of their female peers.  The truth of the matter is, having such high ideals and expectations of your female peers can be sometimes damaging to the most fragile person within the group of peers.  This can lead to anxiety, depressant, and fear.  It can even become crippling at one point that the female could possibly withdraw from her female peers altogether.   We do not think about this often, but when we are being “truthful”, we must understand where this person has been, where they come from, what they have gone through and how tough it was for them to struggle and how far have they come.  Walk a mile in their shoe and understand, they are human beings, not superwoman. 

Today we pride ourselves in advancing in women’s rights and having the opportunities to work side by side with our male peers.  As it is Women’s History Month, please take notice that we need to do more for our health and become better educated in fitness and health.

If you want to visit, the sites I have used here are a list.

Jennifer Hudson - http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20037293-10391704.html

The National Women’s Health Information Center - http://www.womenshealth.gov/

The Dietary Guidelines - http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm

The Effects of Obesity on Financial - http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/12/01/effects-obesity-pocketbook/

Calculation Your BMI - http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/