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Confidence and body image
Western society is obsessed with body image. Women want to be thinner; men want to be more muscular. Dr Sandra Scott suggests that we need to be comfortable with the shape we are and stop chasing unattainable ideals.
In western societies the media is full of pictures of 'ideal bodies'. The 'perfect' male is handsome, tall and muscular and their 'perfect' female equivalent is beautiful, firm and seemingly impossibly thin - often with disproportionately large breasts. These 'perfect' people are seen to have happiness, wealth and partners. The subliminal message is 'be like this and you can have these things too'. This is what creates the pressure in most people - aspiring to these idealised body images. We want these things and we think this is the way to get them. This pressure affects a lot of men and women and, increasingly, boys and girls.
A whole host of studies have shown most men want to be 'beefier' and most women want to be slimmer. An alarming amount of young people think they're too fat, go on diets and skip meals.
Many people ignore the fact that the idealised body images that surround them are just that - idealised - and actually unattainable for most of us. This means they find themselves on a relentless pursuit of the elusive perfect figure - which just leaves them chronically dissatisfied with their appearance. This can lead to poor self-esteem and a lack of confidence.
It helps to put the whole issue into perspective, remembering you're not alone. The vast majority of people don't have (and won't ever have) these perfect bodies either, but what does that really mean? The truth is that it doesn't actually mean you can't have the positive things we associate with these images. This is a fallacy that started in Hollywood - and it should remain there.
The biggest myth is you can't be considered physically attractive without fitting into this mould. There are many ways to be attractive beyond the stereotype. It's certainly not always the best looking person that gets the girl or guy.
Most of us are much more likely to talk and get to know somebody who is friendly and approachable rather than a more physically attractive self-centred person. Our personality and behaviour count for a lot. We need to accept ourselves for who we are and what we're meant to look like. Our aim should be to be the best and healthiest we can - we need to realise that this is the 'perfect' us.
Recognise your attributes and make the most of them rather than dwelling on imperfections. By all means eat sensibly and exercise to have a healthy body - but also have a healthy mind. Your attitude towards yourself makes a big difference. Lack of confidence in your appearance can lead you to behave in defensive ways that appear unfriendly and aloof, and this behaviour is likely to put people off rather than your appearance.
Believing in yourself and feeling good about the way you look will help to automatically send off more positive signals about the person you really are. So don't waste any more time trying to be a second class somebody else and get on with being a first class you!
Health News
Sources: BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/default.stm)
Reuters, AP, Mayo, ...., and LA Times:
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All content within this site is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. We are not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this Health website. We are not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites. Always consult your own GP if you're in any way concerned about your health.
Aids warning over bushmeat trade
5m tonnes of bushmeat is eaten in Africa each year
A study of African hunters has shown that a virus similar to HIV has passed from apes to humans from bushmeat of the kind that is being sold illegally in the UK.
A leading scientist has told the File On 4 programme that the virus was probably passed on to tribesmen via body fluids when the animals were slaughtered and butchered.
Assistant Professor Nathan Wolfe, who tested more than 1,000 hunters for Johns Hopkins University, found a retrovirus from the same family as HIV in a number of them.
This is most likely the mechanism by which HIV emerged into the human population
Nathan Wolfe, Johns Hopkins University
"This is the area of the world where HIV came from, and this is most likely the mechanism by which HIV emerged into the human population," he said.
Although the full public health implications are still unknown, the fear is that the new virus could result in a new disease which would have global impact.
Click here to send in your comments on this programme.
UK imports
The File On 4 team accompanied environmental health officers to spot inspections at London shops where they found illegal bushmeat from West and Central Africa.
About 5 million tonnes of bushmeat, which originates from animals such as antelopes, snakes, gorillas and elephants, is eaten in these regions of Africa every year.
It is estimated that 12,000 tonnes of all manner of illegal meat is smuggled into the UK annually, a significant proportion of which is thought likely to be bushmeat.
There may also be serious implications for the health of British domestic livestock as the foot and mouth outbreak was linked to illegal meat imports in 2001.
Under cover
Posing as rich white loggers and accompanied by an undercover worker from the Last Great Ape project, File On 4 journalists travelled to Cameroon where pygmy hunters offered to kill gorillas, seen as the best meat.
All they wanted in return was the ammunition and the meat of the gorilla to eat.
The journalists were offered the skull, palms, and legs of the gorilla free of charge as long as they could provide the bullets to shoot it.
One pygmy said they had lost count of the number of gorillas they had killed.
Abject poverty forces such hunters to kill any animal, no matter how rare or unfit for human consumption, and transport it out of the country through black markets.
It is not known whether anybody has become sick from the virus.
File on 4 is broadcast on Radio 4 on Tuesday 26 October at 2000 BST and repeated at 1700 BST on Sunday 31 October.
October, 2004
10-26-04
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food irradiation safe,
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Confidence and body image
Western society is obsessed with body image. Women want to be thinner; men want to be more muscular. Dr Sandra Scott suggests that we need to be comfortable with the shape we are and stop chasing unattainable ideals.
Aids warning over bushmeat trade
5m tonnes of bushmeat is eaten in Africa each year |
A study of African hunters has shown that a virus similar to HIV has passed from apes to humans from bushmeat of the kind that is being sold illegally in the UK.
A leading scientist has told the File On 4 programme that the virus was probably passed on to tribesmen via body fluids when the animals were slaughtered and butchered.
Assistant Professor Nathan Wolfe, who tested more than 1,000 hunters for Johns Hopkins University, found a retrovirus from the same family as HIV in a number of them.
|
This is most likely the mechanism by which HIV emerged into the human population Nathan Wolfe, Johns Hopkins University |
"This is the area of the world where HIV came from, and this is most likely the mechanism by which HIV emerged into the human population," he said.
Although the full public health implications are still unknown, the fear is that the new virus could result in a new disease which would have global impact.
Click here to send in your comments on this programme.
UK imports
The File On 4 team accompanied environmental health officers to spot inspections at London shops where they found illegal bushmeat from West and Central Africa.
About 5 million tonnes of bushmeat, which originates from animals such as antelopes, snakes, gorillas and elephants, is eaten in these regions of Africa every year.
It is estimated that 12,000 tonnes of all manner of illegal meat is smuggled into the UK annually, a significant proportion of which is thought likely to be bushmeat.
There may also be serious implications for the health of British domestic livestock as the foot and mouth outbreak was linked to illegal meat imports in 2001.
Under cover
Posing as rich white loggers and accompanied by an undercover worker from the Last Great Ape project, File On 4 journalists travelled to Cameroon where pygmy hunters offered to kill gorillas, seen as the best meat.
All they wanted in return was the ammunition and the meat of the gorilla to eat.
The journalists were offered the skull, palms, and legs of the gorilla free of charge as long as they could provide the bullets to shoot it.
One pygmy said they had lost count of the number of gorillas they had killed.
Abject poverty forces such hunters to kill any animal, no matter how rare or unfit for human consumption, and transport it out of the country through black markets.
It is not known whether anybody has become sick from the virus.
File on 4 is broadcast on Radio 4 on Tuesday 26 October at 2000 BST and repeated at 1700 BST on Sunday 31 October.
10-26-04
