You know sometimes I wonder where the news gets these titles for articles. This piece talks about the growing trend in S. Africa of obesity. Obesity studies confuse me because what is considered obese is different for different people. Plus they tend to feed into the over obsession with thinness. Having said that, this is interesting.

"Regretfully, there is also a perception that if a black woman is thin, she might have HIV/AIDS or that her husband can't afford to feed her well," van der Merwe said in a statement.

Studies show that South Africa has weight problems across all race groups, with half of women and one third of men overweight. Those levels are just 20 percent lower than in the United States, regarded by many as the world's fattest country.

But black women are the most seriously affected and 30 percent are now clinically obese, van der Merwe said, adding that for many regular exercise was not an option.

I just want to say first off, big is beautiful. Secondly, because of poor access to nutritious food, poor people suffer from obesity. For most "modernizing" nations good food, excercise, healthy lifestyles have somehow been commodified and are only accessed by the well off.

But the deeper issue here is the panic caused by the AIDS epidemic in South Africa is intense to the point where folks are afraid to be thin because it makes them look like they have AIDs. That is messed up for so many reasons.

WTF?

via CNN.

1 Comments

August 14, 2006 10:05 AM

[0+]  catswym said:

to me the deeper issue here was the "for many regular exercise was not an option" because it was unsafe to walk around.

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