Cultural Conditioning
Whether we like it or not a lot of what we do is conditioned by the culture from which we are born or raised. I often wonder why some people are obsessed with weight loss. Is it a neurological disorder or are people just trying to experiment with something new? Why is it that I some African society people aspire to gain weight while in western communities they aspire to lose weight? Are people so different because of the culture into which they are born? All these questions can be answered through the careful study of culture. Culture is the evolving norms that govern the life of people.
The Ideal Body Types
This is not a politically correct thing to say but all of us have an ideal body type and that ideal is largely determined by the culture from which we come from. One of the most interesting things is that the way beauty is valued from community to community. What some people see as absolute beauty is not impressive to other people. I will take a much generalized stereotype of the ideal western women which is blonde, tall and slim. That kind of ideal will not work in certain cultures such as Africa where thinness is associated with disease.
However even within the subcultures there will be variances in terms of the ideal body type. This brings us to some of the reasons that people try to lose weight. Imagine that you come from a culture which values a bit of weight. You have not been bothered by the bit of fat is accumulating around your waist. Eventually you move to a culture which does not value weight. You are then considered to be rather ugly. Weight loss would then become a priority.
Health Reasons
Sometimes people will become so heavy that the weight will begin to affect their general health. Their doctor will then either prescribe pills or a diet program which is designed to bring their weight down. For them weight has become a life and death issue so they have to act or face potentially fatal consequences. Sometimes excessive weight can begin to create health problems such as breathing difficulty and edema. The subsequent pain will then force them to reconsider losing health.
We have been talking about voluntary weight loss but there are people who lose weight despite their best efforts. I am referring to people who have illnesses which make them lose a large amount of weight even if they are aware that it is not particularly good for their health. This is one of those occasions when weight loss is not a welcome development
Personal Preference
Some people just decide that they want to look different and one of the ways in which they can quickly change their appearance is losing weight. These are people who will go to the gym and control their diet in order to reduce the overall amount of body fat that they have. It might not just be about looking good but could also be a decision based on wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Whether we like it or not a lot of what we do is conditioned by the culture from which we are born or raised. I often wonder why some people are obsessed with weight loss. Is it a neurological disorder or are people just trying to experiment with something new? Why is it that I some African society people aspire to gain weight while in western communities they aspire to lose weight? Are people so different because of the culture into which they are born? All these questions can be answered through the careful study of culture. Culture is the evolving norms that govern the life of people.
This is not a politically correct thing to say but all of us have an ideal body type and that ideal is largely determined by the culture from which we come from. One of the most interesting things is that the way beauty is valued from community to community. What some people see as absolute beauty is not impressive to other people. I will take a much generalized stereotype of the ideal western women which is blonde, tall and slim. That kind of ideal will not work in certain cultures such as Africa where thinness is associated with disease.
However even within the subcultures there will be variances in terms of the ideal body type. This brings us to some of the reasons that people try to lose weight. Imagine that you come from a culture which values a bit of weight. You have not been bothered by the bit of fat is accumulating around your waist. Eventually you move to a culture which does not value weight. You are then considered to be rather ugly. Weight loss would then become a priority.
Health Reasons
Sometimes people will become so heavy that the weight will begin to affect their general health. Their doctor will then either prescribe pills or a diet program which is designed to bring their weight down. For them weight has become a life and death issue so they have to act or face potentially fatal consequences. Sometimes excessive weight can begin to create health problems such as breathing difficulty and edema. The subsequent pain will then force them to reconsider losing health.
We have been talking about voluntary weight loss but there are people who lose weight despite their best efforts. I am referring to people who have illnesses which make them lose a large amount of weight even if they are aware that it is not particularly good for their health. This is one of those occasions when weight loss is not a welcome development
Personal Preference
Some people just decide that they want to look different and one of the ways in which they can quickly change their appearance is losing weight. These are people who will go to the gym and control their diet in order to reduce the overall amount of body fat that they have. It might not just be about looking good but could also be a decision based on wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle.
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