How Thin is Too Thin?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which women are thinnest of them all? If you've guessed the French, then you've guessed right. Indeed, French women are the thinnest in Europe, according to new research conducted by France's National Institute of Demographic Studies. The kicker, though, is that only half of them think they are too thin. So how thin is too thin?

Five percent of all French women are officially "underweight," according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards. On the plus side, France is the only European nation whose women and men are both solidly in the normal weight category. But the proportion of overly thin women in France has long been the highest among all European nations.

The significance of this study is that it sheds light on what one culture sees as the norm with regard to body weight. In other European countries such as Britain, Spain and Portugal, women there tend to over-estimate their skinniness--that is, more women think they are too thin than actually are, according to the WHO standards. WHO uses body mass index (BMI) as an indicator for body weight. BMI is calculated by taking one's weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of one's height in meters. The range of normal weight is 18.5-to-24.9.*

In France, however, only 50% of the women falling below 18.5 BMI think they are too thin. In that culture thin is obviously in. So while many European nations, and America, have a problem with obesity and overweight people, France has the opposite problem...and it is a problem.

We all know that anorexia is a health hazard, so France's cultural attitudes toward weight perpetuate its own public health issues. The real scary part for the French is that despite being the thinnest women in Europe, many French women consider themselves "too fat." For French women, "the body is related to beauty, and beauty to being thin," said one of the scientists conducting the study

It just goes to show you that no culture is immune to body image issues. Too thin is unhealthy, and it doesn't really look good, at least by health standards. But in France, it's the look to go for. So I guess when you hear next how healthy the French are, keep this little fact in mind; they may be thin, but too thin isn't necessarily good for the health.

*Check your own weight status on this BMI calculator (using British units weights).

Anorexia Is Not Just For Kids Anymore

Experts say that the number of women in their 30s, 40s and 50s being treated for anorexia is rising fast. One eating disorders treatment center in Minnesota says that its number of mature patients has increased from 9% in 2003 to 35% through only the first half of this year.

According to Carol Tappen, director of operations for the Park Nicollet Health Services' Eating Disorders Institute in St. Louis Park, Minn., women over 30 are dealing with body image issues and more, such as work, divorce, stepchildren and aging parents. They also are dealing with an aging process, or childbirth, that changes the way they look. Tappen says, "One day, (a woman) wakes up and the kids are gone and she has a sense that nobody really needs her. She looks in the mirror and she says, 'My body is shot.' This woman says, 'You know, that's it. I'm going on a diet.'"

This really is a complex issue with no easy answers. At the risk of stating the obvious, this is a serious self image issue with deep rooted beliefs on what makes a person worthwhile or desirable. Being healthy is one thing, and yes, your body can give you an accurate picture of your current level of health, but skinny does not equal healthy. Far too many people (both men and women) use their weight as a guide to their health - that's their reference point.

If you wake up one morning, look at your body and say, "I gotta make some changes." Great, make changes. Start exercising, eat healthy foods, see a chiropractor and get that neck ache squared away, but don't starve yourself. First off, it's counterproductive: You'll actually end up looking worse - it's not attractive. And secondly, it is so damaging to your health. What difference does it make at the end of the day if you're skinny but you drop dead because of the stresses you've put on your body?

I can't speak for every man (or woman - this is not a heterosexual thing) but I'm pretty certain that most men find self confidence and self comfortability more attractive than skinniness. Unfortunately, I think that society is inundated with images of ultra-thin fashion models and celebrities and begins to think it's normal. It's not! Maybe a few of those images reflect the normal body shapes of some particular celebs, but many of these women are anorexic too.

Some women will say, "I don't need to lose weight for anybody but myself - I feel better when I'm thinner." Really? Somehow, I just don't buy it. A fine line sits between being over and under weight, but as I've said before, weight is simply a poor way to evaluate one's health. Do the right things, practice the six keys to optimal health, and if you don't look and feel great, you just haven't given it enough time. Remember one thing: nobody is rejecting you because of your weight - it might be a lot of things, but it ain't that. And if for any odd reason it is, then that person isn't worth a pound of....