"Not All Women Hate Their Bodies"

Ran across this article while killing time at work on ModernMinority.com. I can't say that I am surprised at the findings, considering that I know I underestimate my size sometimes and would prefer being thick to being skinny or small. It was just an interesting little bit of info:

Overweight and obese women being treated at an inner-city family-planning
clinic apparently don’t assess their physical characteristics in quite the same
way that medical professionals do. They tend to like their bodies.

In a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, most overweight and obese women underestimated their
body size when comparing silhouettes of body shapes — and some of them chose
heavy silhouettes as their personal ideal.

Previous research had found ethnic differences in whether or not people
see themselves as overweight or obese. And this study confirms that African
American and Hispanic women are especially likely to underestimate their body
size. (The few white women in the study overestimated their body size.)

The researchers, from Temple University, are understandably chagrined
by all of this. They point out that the health risks of being overweight mean
women ignore reality at their own peril. And they say the findings show the need
for more education about the negative effects of “excessive body size.”

It’s true. Of course it is, but …

Physical self-appreciation among women is so very rare. Here’s hoping
that the education doesn’t actually do damage.

– Tami DennisSource: latimesblogs.com