Unhealthy Obssession

This is sad:

Most Italians feel more guilty about over-eating than they do about cheating on their partners, a survey has found, suggesting that people in Casanova's native land care more about staying slim than staying faithful.

[...]

Sexual infidelity came bottom of the list of the magazine's 'seven deadly sins', behind neglecting friends and family, failing at work and not looking after one's physique.

And to think Italy is predominantly Catholic which, being born Catholic myself, is pretty big on the guilt thing especially when it comes to S-E-X.

I can't decide if this is worse:

The majority of (British) women would prefer to be slimmer than have a higher IQ, instant wealth or a date with the celebrity of their dreams.

Nineteen out of 20 of the female population say that they place a higher priority on having a smaller waist than on their intelligence.

One in three women admitted that they spend more time worrying about their weight than their finances, jobs or families. And while 29 per cent said their biggest dread was going to the dentist and 16 per cent cited looking for a new job, a massive 40 per cent admitted their worst fear was having to try on clothes in a shop's communal fitting rooms.

The first article pointed to the main culprit for these eschewed views of self: the judgment of loved ones or the disapproval of society as a whole.

Thin equals beautiful in today's society, and women feel the pressure most acutely. It is, whether we like it or not, our unique burden. Though men are increasingly judged by the same parameters, society is still more forgiving of extra poundage on men than on women.

It goes back to youth and beauty as women's standard bartering chips. Just as men are often judged by how much wealth or power they have, women are judged by their looks and their weight. An archaic line of thinking which should've gone the way of monocles and petticoats, in my opinion.

Personally, I'd rather be called fat than dumb, although with a 134 IQ level I acquit myself well in that department. Weight can be controlled only to a certain extent; genetics, age and other factors come into play. Those days or weighing a lithe 100 pounds is gone for me but so what?

In the bigger scheme of things, I wouldn't lose any sleep if I'm called either. Life is too short to live by other people's standards. Whose life is it anyway?

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