Body Issues and The Body Issue

       Let me begin by making it clear that I cannot begin to understand what it is like to be a young woman in today's society. The pressures placed on you all to look a certain way by the media must be suffocating. I sincerely believe that the entertainment industry is a primary player in the widespread pandemic of body image issues that plague not only you women, but also a rising number of men in their teens and twenties (an estimated 5-15% of all eating disorder cases are male). 

       Recent surveys estimate that roughly 24 million people in the United States alone suffer from some form of eating disorder. Think that's scary? A similar survey found that 69% of girls ranging from 5th to 12th grade admitted that pictures they saw in magazines influenced what they thought the "perfect" body shape was. 

70% of girls in primary school think this is "perfect"

       One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to female health is the stigma associated with lifting weights or engaging in intense exercise with the reasoning of, "not wanting to get too bulky" or, "not wanting to look like a man" (Lucky for me, I get to hear this roughly six times a day at my job). The fact of the matter is a woman will never gain the amount of muscle mass it would take to look bulky or "like a man" (admittedly, this is subjective as Michael Cera is considered a man by definition).

       This is due to the hormone balance of estrogen and testosterone in their system. Without getting too deep into the biology of it, women naturally produce less testosterone, which is anabolic (builds muscle), and more estrogen, which is detrimental to muscle mass (catabolic), than men do. While there are exceptions to this rule such as the occasional genetic outlier that naturally produces more testosterone than "normal", female ranges vary based on where you look, usually you will find numbers anywhere between 10-80ng/dl of testosterone qualifies as within "normal" ranges (comparatively, men that register levels anywhere from 300-1,000ng/dl are considered normal). 

       If that wide of a scope is considered normal for a woman then it is not too hard to imagine that some women will fall out of that range biologically. This information is also not to be abused, much like the report that obesity is genetic, in assumptions that you MUST be one of those women with "too much" testosterone if you happen to see a muscle or two after training. It is very rare.

       The other obvious exception is those that abuse hormone treatments. Strength training in a normal, healthy female two to three times a week will not result in "She-Hulking" and can be extremely beneficial both physically and aesthetically.

I'm not saying she used steroids to get to this point, but I'm not not saying it.

       Last week ESPN The Magazine unveiled its fourth installment of 'The Body Issue'. For those not aware, the Body Issue features several prominent athletes of today in the nude. While tastefully done, it still leaves very little to the imagination. I, for one, am a staunch supporter of the Body Issue. Leave out the fact that it is full of nude female (and male, if that's more your speed) athletes and I still think it is fantastic for the fact that it shows young women that the stick model look that Cosmo, People, etc. raves about does not single-handedly define "sexy".

OK! Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive

      This is Gina Carano.

       She is an American mixed martial artist. If she looks familiar, she was also recently in a movie called Haywire and was also 'Crush' on the American Gladiators remake of a couple years ago. She doesn't fit the media's cookie cutter image of what a woman needs to look like to be "attractive". She doesn't weigh 100lbs. She has muscle. I'm willing to bet she eats more than once a week. You want to tell her she's too heavy because she weighs 145lbs? That she'd be more attractive if she slimmed down a bit? Be my guest.

By all means, go for it. I'm just saying...

       The studies have shown that the young girls are going to generate their opinion of a healthy body from magazines and social media. If that is going to be the case, why not provide them with actual healthy people to formulate these notions from. So kudos to ESPN for continuing to produce The Body Issue. I think it is wonderful that they are providing young girls with healthy women to use as role models. as well as debunking myths about females and the effects of exercise. As professional athletes, these women exercise more than just about anyone and they are all still able to exude femininity as a part of their strength, not in spite of it.

       So are you a skinny girl wishing you had an ass? Lift weights. Are you looking to lose a few pounds? Ditch the treadmill. Lift weights. Studies show it is a more efficient use of your time anyway (and thanks to a process known as EPOC your metabolism will stay elevated up to a day and a half later). I sincerely hope that more magazines, if not society as a whole, begin to follow suit and acknowledge that "skinny" and "healthy" are not synonyms.

       Let me leave you with this: who looks healthier?

       For more information on eating disorders, or if you suspect someone you know may be suffering from an eating disorder, I recommend checking out the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.