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 Dennis
Photo: Self-perceptions, as with reflections, vary by person.
Reality television shows that focus on physical transformation, such as "The Swan," "Dr. 90210" and "I Want a Famous Face," may be highly entertaining but, to some women, they also create high anxiety. A study published in Configurations, the official journal of the Society for Literature, Science and the Arts, found that women equate beauty with wealth and social status and that the more they watch these shows, the more likely they are to feel anxious about their bodies.
USC professor Julie Albright surveyed 662 male and female college students in Los Angeles and Buffalo, N.Y. The majority of the respondents said the makeover shows made the women more beautiful and made the respondents less satisfied with their own appearance, especially particular features such as their legs or waist. This "beauty anxiety," said Albright, may lead them "to more often seek reassurance about their disliked feature from others, to feel more worried about their disliked feature in public and social settings, and to become more upset when someone notices or comments on it."
The women in Buffalo appeared to have more anxiety over their appearance than those in Los Angeles. The Buffalo students were from families with an average lower income compared with the students in L.A. While the L.A. students tended to see their "problem bodies" as a moral failing, the women in Buffalo believed their body issues were keeping them from success. As reality shows have become more prevalent, and have featured women from all walks of life, women may see plastic surgery as a valuable step in achieving social and economic success.
"Women are being taught to access power and status through their looks," Albright said in a news release. "Before women might buy a Louis Vuitton purse to show off their 'status.' Now they might buy new breasts as a sign of their success."
-- Shari Roan
Photo: A "Swan" participant prepares for plastic surgery. Credit: Robert Voets/Fox
Let's be honest -- most of us are able to exercise, we just choose not to. We set up our own roadblocks that undermine whatever intentions we may have to be physically active.
But obese women may have more of those roadblocks. A study presented at the Obesity Society’s annual scientific meeting in Phoenix this week found that obese women create more mental barriers that keep them from exercising than normal or underweight women.
Researchers from the Center for Obesity Research and Education and the kinesiology department at Temple University in Philadelphia surveyed 105 overweight and obese women and 173 normal and underweight women enrolled in a home-based exercise promotion trial. Overall, the overweight and obese women told of more perceived obstacles to exercise than their slimmer counterparts. They were more likely to feel self-conscious about how they looked while exercising, felt they lacked self-discipline, hated to fail so didn’t try, feared injury, viewed activity as hard work, had minor aches and pains, and felt too overweight to exercise.
Overweight and obese women who had these stumbling blocks at the beginning of the study were less likely to be physically active at a 12-month follow-up.
But rather than interpret these barriers as rationalizations, researchers saw them as challenges that need addressing. "These might sound like excuses to some people," said lead author Melissa Napolitano, associate professor of kinesiology, in a news release, "but for those who have these aversions, they’re real problems."
Tailored programs, she added, are necessary to help overweight women clear these hurdles and sustain a weight-loss program.
As the fear of hard economic times infects, yes, even Hollywood, plastic surgeons and beauty consultants are pitching lower-cost alternatives to pricey face-lifts: Botox, lasers and all variety of creams, some of which reporter Shari Roan explored in one L.A. Times story on stem cell ingredients, and in another story on exotic botanicals.
Even a segment of the Daily Show once sent reporter Larry Wilmore to Beverly Hills to see how the rich and beautiful are coping, what with less wealth available to spend on beauty. He heard resident Goldy Anthony lament, "I haven't had Botox in 8 to 9 months," while Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Kotler said, "I guess you can judge the economy by how many wrinkles are out there."
Now, according to a news release from Frownies Facial Pads, a Hollywood secret, kept under wraps since the product first came out in 1889, is out of the bag. The low-cost cosmetic treatment consists of craft paper with glue backing, called Wrinkle Eradicators in the 19th century, and still available under the new name. For about $20, customers get 144 of the sticky pads. You simply moisten the pad, stick it around the forehead, frown lines or crow's feet before bedtime, and wake up with skin that is smooth and youthful.
The trouble is, there are no scientific studies backing the face-taping process, which claims to retrain skin cells to be wrinkle-free, according to a site that reviews wrinkle creams. And of 66 people who took the time to write a review of the product on a website, some swear by the pads, while others say they're a waste of money.
But, with recession in the air, they are definitely cheaper than plastic surgery.
-- Susan Brink
Photo: Tom Sobolik/Black Star/Picture Quest. Brushstrokes on life's canvas? Or just plain old wrinkles?
Fifty-four women have bared all -- bodies and minds -- for a new book showing off (proudly) the female body in just some of its myriad forms. "This Is Who I Am: Our Beauty in All Shapes and Sizes" reveals the strength and frailties inherent in the bodies of the young and the old, the heavy and the thin, the small-breasted and the wide-hipped, the tattooed and the scarred.
And then author and photographer Rosanne Olson goes further, sharing the women's very real stories. Emily, 22, reflects on her seemingly normal appearance -- and the part of her lung lost to cystic fibrosis. Donna, 39, is learning to accept the body she wishes were 60 pounds lighter. Jan, 88, a dancer before World War II, has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Loti, 38, loves her brown skin and cares not whether she has hair. Gretchen, 42, likes her wide shoulders and finds her mastectomy scar interesting.
Olson, who has battled anorexia and worked with breast cancer patients, says she wants the book to awaken women to the beauty within each of them, to not feel bound by stereotypes, by the perceptions of others or by their own imagined imperfections. "My hope is that this book will be a catalyst for compassionate conversation among women and men everywhere," she says in the introduction.
The photographs are beautiful, to be sure, but the stories are what give the women their power -- or, rather, acknowledge the power they already possess.
But we're a product of our culture. Or biology. If there's a woman out there who, looking at this book, does not automatically compare herself positively or negatively to the photos therein, please, please, let me know. And tell me how you mastered that instinct.
And if there's a woman out there who, looking at this book more closely, does not see the beauty of these women and the strength in their stories, please share that as well. I'd like to know how that's possible.
Tami Dennis, who takes the word "skeptic" to previously uncharted territory, is the Times' Health and Science editor. She's adamant that pitches promoting awareness days, weeks or months are, by their nature, non-stories. And, because she's an adult, she refuses to use words like "veggies," "tummy" and "yummy."
Rosie Mestel, deputy Health and Science editor, studied genetics before abandoning flies, fungi and DNA for health/medical writing. Her hero is the biologist Ernst Haeckel, whose jellyfish paintings inspired snazzy chandeliers. Her favorite toast-spread is Marmite, a British delicacy made of yeast extract. Her least-favorite word is "millenniums."
Melissa Healy is a staff writer for the Health section reporting from Washington D.C. Healy's a veteran of The Times' National staff, having covered the Pentagon, Congress, poverty and social welfare, the environment, and the White House before shifting to Health in 2003. She writes frequently about mental health and human behavior, about federal health policy, prescription medication and ethics in medicine. More wonk than wellness freak, Healy chooses to believe in the health benefits of coffee and wine, and considers water a better work-out medium than beverage.
Karen Kaplan covers genetics, stem cells and cloning. She and colleague Thomas H. Maugh II comprise about 25% of the unofficial MIT-Alumni-in-Journalism Club, and she is proud to have taken more math (5) than English (0) courses in college. Her contributions to Booster Shots will, she hopes, appear more frequently than postings to her mommy blog.
Thomas H. Maugh II has been a science and medical writer at the Times for 23 years. Before that, he was on the staff of the journal Science for 13 years.
He has bachelor's degrees in English and chemistry from MIT and a doctorate in chemistry from UC Santa Barbara.
After a brief stint as a sports writer, Shari Roan turned to health journalism and has covered the topic for The Times for 18 years. She is the author of three books and the mother of two daughters, both teenagers who refer to her as a "health freak." She likes to jog, watch baseball and is very happy that dark chocolate contains some health benefit.
Jeannine Stein writes about fitness, sports medicine and obesity for the Health section. She’s a gym rat from way back and never met an elliptical trainer she didn’t like. Well, maybe one or two. She tempers exercise with a steady diet of reality television because she believes it’s all about balance.
But obese women may have more of those roadblocks. A study presented at the 
creams, some of which reporter Shari Roan explored in one 
Fifty-four women have bared all -- bodies and minds -- for a new book showing off (proudly) the female body in just some of its myriad forms. "