Metabo-mania

Just found this article by Terry Lloyd and couldn't help but to agree with his take on rake-like legs and the overhyped slimming trend here in Japan.

[...] The thing is that I started noticing just how many girls wearing leggings seem to be thin as rakes―starved, in fact. And this made me wonder whether the advertising being pumped out by the fashion and health industries isn't actually causing consumers to have an increased rate of eating disorders―which are certainly are a problem outside Japan, amongst young women in particular.

Just look around you and you will realize that everywhere in Japan, the message to consumers is "skinny is in." Skinny leggings, skinny fit jeans, even the government wants us to be skinny with its anti-"metabo" (metabolic syndrome) campaign introduced in April 2008. Yes, being obese is not healthy, but are we going too far in the opposite direction? [...]

Click to expand...

=> http://www.japantoday.com/category/...p-side-of-metabolic-syndrome-being-too-skinny

More on the (actual) Metabolic syndrome (be warned of the graphic nature of the pic showing a male with a BMI of 46)...

Girls have been that way for as long as I can remember. I used to be naturally thin in my youth, and other girls used to envy me.

Still, the current obsession with weight seems to be extreme. In addition to the overexposure of these ultrathin supermodels in the fashion industry, the clothing manufacturers are responsible, too. While the US and Europe, I think, have quite extensive range of clothing sizes, most of the clothing here in Japan, especially the fashionable ones, are in the size 7-9 range, making women believe that they MUST alter themselves to fit into them. I have a hard time finding reasonably "pretty" clothes that fit me and go on a shopping spree whenever I have the opportunity to go overseas.

I think it also has much to do with social pressures that trigger strong sense of insecurity and lack of self-esteem that comes with life today. I sense that in many young girls.

I have also read many articles on the gap in mental perception of body size between men and women--that men are inclined to like curvier women than those who look like pencils. I think that should be promoted more vigorously.

As for the real "metabolic syndrome," a nurse teasingly called me "metabo-chan" during a medical checkup, and I've been working hard on weight control since then.

One could also argue the same trend for the opposite sex as well (what I affectionately refer to as the "Girly Man" phenomenon). All these young skinny rail-thin guys without an ounce of muscle on them... yet they seem to be pretty popular with the ladies, go figure. Far from the traditional image of masculinity I was ingrained with growing up in America.