Row over Cosmopolitan cover for calling obesity healthy

[Teletubby 144,104]

The magazine cover features plus-sized models with the tagline 'This is healthy' .

It triggered controversy with some critics pointing at effect of Covid on obesity.

Models featured in the magazine hit back, with Callie Thorpe insisting that 'health is whatever you want to call it'.

The cover has divided readers with some praising the magazine for its portrayal of health while others have slammed its message as being dangerous. 

Spoiler

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[LateToCult 40,723]

This feels like a setup that’ll just get folks to hate on big people. Kind of like when tumblr weirdos made up flags for every emotion and called it a sexuality. 
 

There’s definitely a conversation to be had about weight, body image, and health but I think Cosmo dropped the ball by advertising this as an in your face “This is healthy.” It’s immediately going to turn off people and waste an meaningful content that they may have.

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

Yeah this sends the wrong message... 

[vyniildisk 12,689]

Well maybe they are indeed healthy? I am not a nutrionist but i dont know if by carrying more weight you are automatically obese? There is people with more weight that make exercise; have low cholesterol levels, clean blood and arteries but are, well heavier. So maybe let's not judge only because of the pics

[Defmix100 6,208]

I don't care what's on a cover but it feels like media giving mixed messages - saying it's healthy but then also saying there is an obesity epidemic, putting strain on health care and was also suggested to increase risk of deadly covid cases.

Is it similar to have someone smoking a cigarette on a cover and calling it healthy? Both can lead to poor health and a multitude of diseases. I am overweight and I don't think of myself as healthy in the slightest.

[RadioIsOurs 13,847]

People forget that a BIG part of health is also about your mental health, something people seem to take for granted in a world where superficiality and outer appearances are all that seem to matter.

[A Fried Egg 8,317]

There’s a difference between being plus size and being obese. You can have a bigger frame and be healthy. The latter should not be glamorized. 
 

I’ve personally struggled with weight (well, things in life that lead to weight fluctuations). I was a bit bigger when I was young and then severely underweight through my teen years. It’s taught me that finding peace in my mind and feeling good about yourself is all that really matters. 
 

Edit: I’m not supporting obesity and those women are clearly obese. What I’m saying is it doesn’t matter if you’re a little curvy or skinny, as long as you’re in the healthy range. 

[StrawberryBlond 14,599]

Cosmo started this with the Tess Holliday cover before and that got a huge backlash that resulted in a conversation like this. Clearly, they haven't learned from it and enjoy the attention it brings. Their editor has changed since the Tess cover but the sentiment remains, so clearly, it's not just an editorial decision alone. They're really going full force with this message that they know is controversial to get that attention and it's a shame as it puts these cover stars in the firing line as well. Putting these women on the cover and interviewing them as one thing but holding up their clearly unhealthy weight as healthy and normal is quite another. I'm still flabbergasted that we eventually realised that showing overly thin people is a bad message but seem to think that showing overly heavy people is perfectly fine. Is there no middle ground in society? Why are we always having to go to extremes? The healthiest weight is one that suits your height and possible exercise choices. We have the term "over"weight for a reason. It's extremely rare to find a person who is obese and healthy and when you do, you usually find that they have a medical condition that causes the extra weight, I've yet to find an obese person with no medical conditions to blame for it who was completely healthy. There's a reason why you don't see obese people in their 70's and 80's, you rarely even see one in their 60's. You may be coping ok now but your aging body won't be able to cope. "Health is however you define it" is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. I think more doctors need to speak up on this issue as they've been way too quiet throughout the whole fat acceptance thing.

21 minutes ago, Dulo Peep said:

Well maybe they are indeed healthy? I am not a nutrionist but i dont know if by carrying more weight you are automatically obese? There is people with more weight that make exercise; have low cholesterol levels, clean blood and arteries but are, well heavier. So maybe let's not judge only because of the pics

Carrying more weight makes you simply overweight, being overweight for your height usually means you're obese, albeit not severely so. The level of obesity severity rises the more overweight you are. Yes, there are overweight people who exercise but you have to then ask yourself, why are they still overweight, then? Because they're clearly eating unhealthily and that's what's holding them back. You can't be truly healthy without both things ticked. I saw someone make a very good point today: you wouldn't claim that a smoker was healthy because they exercised, so why do we say an obese person is healthy because they exercise? One thing doesn't omit the other. You can be slim on the outside but be unhealthy on the inside, we've pretty much established that. But it's extremely rare to be obese on the outside and healthy on the inside unless there's a specific weight-based medical condition at hand.

[CCSir 400]

This cover might have been more meaningful had it focused on redefining beauty instead. These women are all very beautiful and nobody should feel uncomfortable in their own skin because of weight. Traditional Western beauty standards that glorify thinness to the point of inducing eating disorders are definitely harmful, and more representation from different body types goes a long way.

Health is another topic altogether though, and it's not something subjective. Cosmo doesn't decide whether the models are healthy or not, a doctor would assess this with factors like BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. I don't know what the details of these people's health are, but admittedly being overweight introduces gateways for a variety of health problems. The point is, we're not their doctors, we don't know.

They just chose the wrong fight I think.

[vyniildisk 12,689]

18 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said:

Cosmo started this with the Tess Holliday cover before and that got a huge backlash that resulted in a conversation like this. Clearly, they haven't learned from it and enjoy the attention it brings. Their editor has changed since the Tess cover but the sentiment remains, so clearly, it's not just an editorial decision alone. They're really going full force with this message that they know is controversial to get that attention and it's a shame as it puts these cover stars in the firing line as well. Putting these women on the cover and interviewing them as one thing but holding up their clearly unhealthy weight as healthy and normal is quite another. I'm still flabbergasted that we eventually realised that showing overly thin people is a bad message but seem to think that showing overly heavy people is perfectly fine. Is there no middle ground in society? Why are we always having to go to extremes? The healthiest weight is one that suits your height and possible exercise choices. We have the term "over"weight for a reason. It's extremely rare to find a person who is obese and healthy and when you do, you usually find that they have a medical condition that causes the extra weight, I've yet to find an obese person with no medical conditions to blame for it who was completely healthy. There's a reason why you don't see obese people in their 70's and 80's, you rarely even see one in their 60's. You may be coping ok now but your aging body won't be able to cope. "Health is however you define it" is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. I think more doctors need to speak up on this issue as they've been way too quiet throughout the whole fat acceptance thing.

Carrying more weight makes you simply overweight, being overweight for your height usually means you're obese, albeit not severely so. The level of obesity severity rises the more overweight you are. Yes, there are overweight people who exercise but you have to then ask yourself, why are they still overweight, then? Because they're clearly eating unhealthily and that's what's holding them back. You can't be truly healthy without both things ticked. I saw someone make a very good point today: you wouldn't claim that a smoker was healthy because they exercised, so why do we say an obese person is healthy because they exercise? One thing doesn't omit the other. You can be slim on the outside but be unhealthy on the inside, we've pretty much established that. But it's extremely rare to be obese on the outside and healthy on the inside unless there's a specific weight-based medical condition at hand.

Well thank you so much for clarifying that. As i said, i am not a health expert by any means

[Chromatican 4,046]

Jillian Michaels will freak out when she sees these covers.

[StrawberryBlond 14,599]

53 minutes ago, Dulo Peep said:

Well thank you so much for clarifying that. As i said, i am not a health expert by any means

Bear in mind that I'm not a health expert either, I'm just parroting what the experts have said. I just wish more of them would speak up at the peak of fat acceptance to give people a wake up call. What I find concerning is that so many people who have been obese say after they've lost all the weight is that they feel better than ever and that they realise they were just lying to themselves all these years when they claimed that they were fine with being fat. That shows how easy it is to get trapped in a cycle of believing your way of life is normal when it's all you've ever known. It's only when you stop being unhealthy and become healthy that you realise how unhealthy you were before. I think it's irresponsible to encourage people to be stuck in a very damaging cycle, lie to themselves and ignore all the signs their body's giving them that this isn't right. And to make the conversation about weight revolve around looks. Contrary to what many think, it's not the look that bothers us, it's what you're doing to your health that bothers us.

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

2 hours ago, RadioIsOurs said:

People forget that a BIG part of health is also about your mental health, something people seem to take for granted in a world where superficiality and outer appearances are all that seem to matter.

Of course mental health is extremely important, and just as important as physical health. But that doesn't mean that we can be overweight, knowing the physical health implications of being overweight, just because we are sound mentally. We all know that being overweight puts more strain on the heart, makes it harder for someone to breathe, puts them at a higher risk of strokes and heart attacks etc etc. 

We need to talk about obesity constructively. But putting her on the front page with "I'm healthy" puts out the message that it's healthy to be overweight and that we shouldn't take care of ourselves in that way. This cover is the opposite of the superficial thin girls. Being underweight is just as unhealthy as being overweight, and I think that's what people are forgetting

[Chromatography 10,183]

1 hour ago, JK Rowling said:

There’s a difference between being plus size and being obese. You can have a bigger frame and be healthy. The latter should not be glamorized. 
 

I’ve personally struggled with weight (well, things in life that lead to weight fluctuations). I was a bit bigger when I was young and then severely underweight through my teen years. It’s taught me that finding peace in my mind and feeling good about yourself is all that really matters. 

these people on the cover are obese

[gothicdream 39,532]

Another day, another fat-shaming thread. Consider everyone you're triggering here, please and thank you.