Are you anxious about your body shape?

Author: Chen Han, deputy chief physician of Shanghai Mental Health Center

Zhou Wei Shanghai Mental Health Center

Reviewer: Chen Jue, Chief Physician, Shanghai Mental Health Center

We live in an era of diversified life. You can choose a variety of different lifestyles. However, there is a pursuit that has gradually become the focus of many people, and even began to define the standard of beauty and health. That is the pursuit of body shape. From the world's richest man Musk, to big stars and small Internet celebrities, from "successful people" from all walks of life to colleagues and friends around you, the discussion about weight loss and keeping in shape seems to never go out of date. But when you "gain three pounds every holiday" after enjoying delicious food, but see "long legs" and "A4 waist" all over the screen, can you still stay calm and not anxious?

The various propaganda from the media has engulfed everyone in society, making them feel that there is a standard for a perfect body, and if they fail to reach this standard, they seem to be not good enough. Various fitness, weight loss, healthy food and other institutions have seized this opportunity to market their products, fueling the public's anxiety about their body shape.

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So, what exactly is body anxiety? Body anxiety usually refers to the anxiety experience and negative emotions related to body shape caused by the gap between one's own body shape and the "ideal" standard body shape of society, and is often accompanied by a strong desire to change one's weight and body shape.

Nowadays, many young people have embarked on a long journey of weight loss due to body anxiety. The online survey on China's dietary health status from April to May this year showed that 57.5% of the 5,478 people interviewed had body anxiety, with the figures for men and women being 48.0% and 61.9% respectively. According to the survey results of China Youth Network in 2021, more than 62.25% of college students have had body anxiety, among which thick legs and overweight are the main problems. 85.82% of college students said they would make changes to their body, including exercise, dieting, drug treatment and medical plastic surgery to alleviate body anxiety.

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However, is there really a standard for a perfect body?

Big breasts and big buttocks were once a compliment to a woman's figure, and a big belly was once a description of a man's image as an official. Society's evaluation of body shape itself has the characteristics of the times. Modern society's expectations for women are more slender and soft, while expectations for men are more masculine and strong. It is not a unified "thin = beautiful". Moreover, modern society has specific indicators for a "healthy" body shape.

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From a medical point of view, whether a body shape is within the normal range can be judged by the body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing the weight (in kilograms) by the square of the height (in meters). For example, a woman who is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 60 kilograms has a BMI of 60/(1.6×1.6)=23.4. For adults, BMIs between 18.5 and 24 are within the normal range. Those above 24 are overweight, while those below 18.5 are underweight (for adolescents under 18 years old, different standards apply to different ages). Of course, the standard for a healthy body shape is not limited to BMI. Indicators such as body fat percentage, water content, bone density, and various nutritional contents all constitute the standard for indicating whether your body shape is healthy, and BMI is the easiest one to calculate. You can calculate whether your BMI is within the normal range. If you care enough about your health, you can also go to a general hospital for a comprehensive examination.

Although all doctors and nutrition experts will emphasize the importance of health as a body standard, it is inevitable to deal with the body standards recognized by the public in society. As the old saying goes, everyone has a desire for beauty. This contains the pursuit of being appreciated in social evaluations of others. Body shape seems to be the most easily evaluated by others. So how can we get out of this vicious circle and avoid falling into the trap of "body anxiety" set by the environment?

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A person's inner qualities are the real source of others' appreciation and recognition. When you first meet someone, the most important factors that make a first impression may be your clothing, appearance, body shape, and face shape, but as the conversation progresses and deepens, it is your inner qualities that can impress people and leave a greater impression on others. A person with knowledge and poetry will be elegant in spirit. When you put the efforts you put into pursuing the so-called "perfect body" into other aspects of your life, you will gain more valuable wealth.

Body anxiety originally comes from our desire to become better and from our pursuit of beauty and health, but everything will turn into the opposite. Excessive anxiety about body shape or taking too radical weight loss and body shaping will not only affect physical and mental health, but may also cause fatal diseases. The increasing prevalence of eating disorders among young people in recent years is largely related to strong body anxiety and excessive weight loss.

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Enrich your inner self, maintain your self-confidence, do not base your self-identity entirely on your appearance, say NO to body anxiety, and believe that you can become the most perfect version of yourself and speak for yourself!

References

[1]FIONA, MONRO, GAIL, et al. Media-portrayed idealized images, body shame, and appearance anxiety[J]. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2005, 38(1):85-90.

[2] Chen Jue. Eating disorders［M］. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2013.