TW: measurements, weight
Do you remember when you were younger and your parents’ friends would come over and exclaim “wow you’ve got so big!”, and you would beam with pride as if growing, and ageing was a personal accomplishment?
Well I wonder when big becomes an insult. I wonder what age, growing suddenly becomes a health concern? For me, it was when I was 11 and had been gaining weight having been in hospital for 3 months not eating. I still remember the numbers to this day. I went into hospital 52 kg and 3 months later, I left 42 kg. I had been banned from eating for 3 months due to infections and so understandably, my body went into starvation mode. 3 months after hospital and I was 72 kg.
30 kg in 3 months is not normal. But nor is being fed by a drip that only contains necessary nutrients for 3 months.
That’s when the “wow you’ve got so big” turned from being a compliment to a concern. This is the danger of associating weight gain with unhealthiness. My weight gain was a sign of my restored health but because we live in a weight obsessed society and I, at the time, lived in a beauty obsessed boarding school, all the warnings were set off and teachers were told to have a word with me… “for my health” of course.
This is why we need to stop applying blanket rules about health. This is why we need to see health and weight in its context. This is why weight is not a barometer for health 🔥🔥🔥. #ScarredNotScared