Women’s obsession with weight loss has quadrupled over the years with the media constantly advocating that skinny is beautiful. There has been radical change in the definition of beauty due to societal pressures often confusing health with skinny. Be at school, college or any work place, most of the lunch hour conversations revolve around calorie-intake, gym sessions or weight loss.  The question is why are women so obsessed with weight loss?  Appearance plays a vital role while dealing with such an obsession. ‘First impressions are lasting impressions’.

This is what has been drilled in our minds since birth. People generally tend to judge you based on your appearance before getting acquainted with you. Negative image is something that is dreaded by most of the women. The general tendency of women is that they feel their weight determines how people perceive them.  Success is equated with weight too. Women feel the thinner they are the successful they’ll tend to be in their respective fields.

The sudden advent of different form of exercises, pills, wonder diets and other stuff claiming to aid weight loss and achieve desired results in a twinkling has garnered much publicity and given an unprecedented momentum to the weight loss obsession among women. To achieve the desired results women end up starving themselves or spending unaccountable time in the gym. The fascination with small numbers or achieving the perfect body measurements is always hovering in their minds. Drawing comparisons with other skinny women is also another reason why women fall prey to the weight loss mania.

The weight loss success stories of models or heroines make headlines these days.  Women worship their favourite stars and want to look like them too. A few extra kilograms make them go into frenzy. Obsession with weight loss makes women self critical and the weight of other women too are always under their scrutiny.  Not only are they judgemental about their own weight but also about others weight. The fear of ‘fat’ arms and ‘thunder’ thighs always creates a fear of putting on kilos and in turn fuels this obsession.

The mindset of few men also needs to be blamed for such an obsession. The weightless yet proportioned body of a model/heroine is idolized not only by women but also men. Women always want their man to be allured by their charm. Negative body image and insecurity is something that no woman can deal with.  Women are taught that fat women find it difficult to find the right life partners. With such daunting opinions, women are increasingly getting obsessed with weight and body measurements.

The fixation to fit into dresses that are a size smaller or fitting into shorts with perfectly toned thighs is rampant all over the world. A little bulge or little fat is considered as ominous. What most of the women fail to understand is that skinny is not synonymous to being healthy or fit? Fitness is all about achieving a weight that is proportional to the height and maintaining a good BMI (Body Mass Index).