Mags: Oprah needs to give herself a break







Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel


Anastasia said...

I can't help but feel disappointed when women of Oprah's stature whine about their weight. She has achieved things that few other women achieve, and sacrifices are a part of that achievement, but more importantly, she needs to realise that some women are meant to be the shape they are and accept that. She'll never be Angelina (or Hollywood) thin, and she's probably creating more health issues by putting herself through many diets over the years.
It's a complete contrast to men with similar wealth. Donald Trump is pudgy but he doesn't make his weight an issue.
The female, only because it is more a female thing, association with weight and control is strange and I'm betting it originates from the avalanche of weight loss center adverts that are probably created by male ad executives.Ads for weight loss centres like Jenny Craig should go the way of tobacco adverts and be removed from television. They don't address the psychological issues behind overeating.

Erica Bartle (nee Holburn) said...

Well said, Anastasia. Weight loss advertisements, skinny models, buff celebrities... all these images and messages bank up in a girl/woman's brain, much to their detriment. The sheer volume has to have an impact - we're a product of our environments, after all.

Anonymous said...

The cynic in me can't help but wonder if the requesite weight loss to follow isn't all just part of a PR opportunity to further mag sales and increase audience numbers. Sad really.

Sam said...

Erica - that was a brilliant piece and it totally goes against what Oprah represents to her zillions of female audiences ... does she not realise she is buying into all the stuff that she advocates not to.
She is such an amazing role model not just to women but to people all over the world and it's just disappointing that she would buy into this 'stuff'.
(sorry about the word 'stuff', brain is yet to wake up and I'm not very articulate right now).

FS said...

When you weigh as much as Oprah does - yeah it's a big issue. It's extremly dangerous for her health. She must have a very high BMI and is probably at the limit for obesity. I can't belive that you don't understand this.

I have myself suffered from obesity and diabetes 2 but managed to get get healthy and I do no longer have diabetes. Do you really understand how horrible it's to be obese? Your entire body is sick. I actually do understand how Oprah feels dissapointed in herself. It's never OK to gain that much weight.

But what Oprah does not understand is that she suffers from a eating disorder. It's a disorder when you jojo diet as much as she does. Most people don't gasp that obesity in many cases is a eating disorder such as anorexia.

I do belive that it's important that society focus on weight issues. But I do belive that the tone of the debate should change in America.