Big is not Beautiful ?? Think Again !

Big is not beautiful. That stigma against fat people who continue to spread and become global. Recent studies even show the number of countries that see a negative image of obesity without shrinking from year to year. That means, the global desire will continue to increase lean body. Alexandra Brewis, an anthropologist at Arizona State University, close attention in recent years is the people who originally open-minded towards the idolized form of body fat, lean body. The most famous example is the island of Fiji, South Pacific. Brewis who visited the island in 1980 found that obesity is celebrated there. But with the arrival of television on the island in 1995 direct community views to change. "The girls in Fiji began to compare themselves with series star Melrose Place or Beverly Hills 90210," Brewis said that conducts research on global views of svelte body. In a survey in 1998, 15 percent of teenage girls in Fiji say they often provoke vomiting to control weight. The figure jumped from 3 percent in 1995. Swift flow of information from television is also making 74 percent of teenage girls felt too fat. Still want a body fat is not equal to stigmatize fat people. According Brewis in Western countries, fat people are perceived as being lazy and lacking self control. This view is different in countries with more friendly in obese people. "Although the hope has a slim body but they do not look negatively on obese people," he said. Brewis and colleagues conducted a survey of urban population in Western countries like the United States, Britain and Iceland, as well as countries such as Latin American Samoa, Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Tanzania. The survey results show that friendly places on the body fat continues to disappear. Places such as Puerto Rico and Samoa which had linked obesity with a gorgeous fat people now regard as laziness. "The situation is rapidly changing," says Brewis. They also established a scale score of 0 (no stigma) to 25 (most stigmatize). Tanzania has a score of 10, while Paraguy scored 15.

Other countries are in between the two. Unfortunately the respondents in this study only slightly, 700 people, so many experts consider this study can not represent a sample of each country. After all every culture has a different perspective on obesity. In India for example, people who are overweight are considered as being rich. But indeed in developing countries usually fat people less fortunate. "Those who are overweight usually difficult to get a job and also a mate," says Scott Lear, professor of health sciences from Canada.