Although there are a lot of negative messages and information on the web regarding body image (photoshop, thinspiration blogs, etc), there are a few positive elements as well!
Healthy weight loss websites like Weight Watchers Online and HealthBoards place extreme importance on their website’s forums. These forums are buzzing with activity, and some threads have over 50,000 posts! These threads are full of encouraging messages, swapping workout regimes and sharing recipes and health issues. A recent study from the journal Qualitative Health Research has found that fat acceptance blogs can improve health outcomes.
“Having that support and feeling empowered, people slowly found that their health behaviours began to change dramatically. For example, many people suddenly felt confident to do swimming, something they would not have done before,” she said.
“People shifted their focus away from weight loss and more toward health. A lot of people started to take part in physical activity not as a way to lose weight but because they enjoyed it. Instead of pounding it out on the treadmill they start playing with their kids. It’s actually a massive shift in the way they looked at things.”
The stigma surrounding ‘fat acceptance’ is the idea that it deems it acceptable to be unhealthy and overweight. When in reality, fat acceptance blogs promote healthy lifestyles through support and encouragement. Fat acceptance is about realizing that people with all types of bodies deserve the same respect.
Technology helps the cause through online forums! Good job, technology, you’re not all bad!
Technology and Body Image 