Appearance

Those who are overweight or obese suffer from issues regarding and related to their appearance. Western society as a whole values a particular body ideal that does not comport with the outward appearance of those with excess weight. Western society also imbues the ideal with value judgments based on compliance with the accepted body ideal, and those who do not meet the ideal are judged to be lacking and less than acceptable in many aspects.

The prevailing body ideal of the dominant Western culture is predominantly biased against fat and excess weight. Those who carry excess weight are often assumed by the populace to be of lower intelligence, to have less personal discipline, and to be lazy, gluttonous, or slovenly. Overweight and obese individuals are consistently hearing and internalizing messages from society to this effect, and thus either tend to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy, or otherwise let it negatively affect their self-perception and self-esteem.

The overweight and obese internalize much of the negative messaging society and individuals aim at them; this manifests as self-loathing, guilt, and shame. These in turn can lead to anxiety, depression, and further disordered eating patterns. In fact, anxiety and depression rates are three to four times higher in obese individuals than in their leaner counterparts. The frequency of being teased about weight and size while growing up has been proven to be negatively correlated with evaluation of one's appearance, and positively correlated with body dissatisfaction during adulthood. Further, subjects with early-onset obesity reported greater body dissatisfaction than did subjects with adult-onset obesity.

Body dissatisfaction is quite often manifested in a distorted image of one's appearance, attractiveness, and/or self-worth. These manifestations surface in situations such as career choice, clothing and dress, dating, and intimate and sexual circumstances. While overweight individuals tend to choose occupations and careers that are about on par with their thinner counterparts, obese and morbidly obese individuals often choose occupations and careers that do not require them to be out in the public eye, or that require a limited contact with persons outside their comfort zones.

Both groups often have trouble finding clothing that reflects the current fashion trends or that fits properly. They are penalized for their size through increased prices for clothes made in bigger sizes, despite the fact that the manufacturing cost is not proportionate to the increase in retail cost.

[Page 41]Stores catering to larger individuals are fewer and far between, in direct contrast to the fact that 65 percent of the American population is overweight or obese. Clothing is often merely serviceable, or made from lower quality fabric and materials. Larger individuals are rarely encouraged by the media to dress fashionably, tend to their health and fitness in the same ways directed toward thinner persons, or care for their outward personal appearance through hair, makeup, accessorization, or other personal hygiene issues. As a result, larger people tend to feel segregated by society. They feel second rate, which again manifests as shame and embarrassment.

Embarrassment regarding personal appearance crosses over from the internal to the external when larger people seek intimate relationships. Dating is more difficult for heavy people as they field quite a bit of rejection based solely on appearance. Some rejection comes in the form of polite excuses, while others are more pointed and direct about the fact that the individual is not only unattracted to the heavier person, but may actually be repulsed or disgusted by the heavy person's lack of compliance with the social ideal. Some people will even directly express their anger that the heavy individual is not even trying to meet the body ideal. This, of course, is often merely a perception, as most heavy individuals are in a constant state of attempting to achieve the social body ideal and change their appearance.

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