If it’s wrong to judge a woman’s health if she’s big, why’s it okay to assume a woman is malnourished and eating disordered if her waist is small?
Now think about that for a moment.
If some people are meant to “live in bigger bodies” (and I quote that generously, being that the body is not a vessel or suit to slip in and out of) — then why wouldn’t some women be meant to “live in smaller bodies”?
As a former personal trainer who counseled many women on exercise, fitness and nutrition, I don’t believe any human being is meant to be obese — or emaciated.
However, I bring up the mantra of “Weight does not determine health” because it’s used very frequently — with different permutations of the wording — on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
- I’m citing it.
- But I don’t agree with it. Obesity, on population-scale studies, is strongly predictive of future health outcomes.
Now, if we abide by this “meant to be” premise — that some people are “meant to be” a certain size — this defense or argument should include tiny waists.
Is it wrong to assume that for some women, a tiny waist is genetic?
After all, a movement on TikTok insists that for most women who have very large waists (as well as other areas of significant excess body fat), it’s broadcasted as being “mostly genetic.”
It’s really puzzling, then, when supporters of this way of thinking don’t apply this logic when it comes to thin women, or straight-size women with noticeably very trim waistlines.
Shouldn’t this reasoning cut both ways?
Though it’s possible that the next tiny waisted woman you see had some CoolSculpting done along her flanks and abdomen, it’s also very, very possible that the next thick waisted woman you see simply eats much more food every day than her body can burn off.
We all know that if someone is emaciated, they will have a tiny waist to go with the extreme undereating.
But not everyone with a very small waist has a body that matches.
This is particularly true of male bodybuilders at contest time.
Nevertheless, some people automatically think that any woman with a remarkably small waist is necessarily malnourished, underfed and suffering from pathological restricted eating – even if the rest of her body isn’t tiny or stick thin, but rather, what would be considered slender, lean or straight size.
Truth is, it’s quite possible for a woman’s waist to be naturally small, even if the rest of her body seems to go with a larger waist.
This doesn’t mean she’s unhealthy or severely restricts food intake.
A very small waist has been pathologized by a community known as fat acceptance, fat liberation and fat activism.
It’s important to note that there are women who wear, for many hours on a daily basis, a device called a waist trainer.
This device causes internal structures to cram up and be crowded into an unnaturally smaller space.
This mechanical compression of the abdominal area is NOT safe and NOT recommended for any woman or man who’d like a trimmer waistline.
But most women with that enviable tiny waist have lucked out with some genetic shuffling or have inherited it from a parent.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Freepik.com/Master1305
