I am batting above my average.
For those who think that is a sporting reference, it is not. It means that my wife is out of my class, a better person than me. Normally, this is said about looks, but while I have some advanced traits, she is better in most ways than me, so on average across the board, many would consider me pretty lucky to have been able to fool her into being with me. This is especially true since I had the stroke, because suffice to say, it didn't make me better in any ways.
But we are all getting worse.
"Almost everything has gotten worse,"
Sebastian Hielm, Director of Food Safety at Finland's agriculture ministry.
What he is talking about is that the percentage of Finns considered overweight has drastically increased in the last ten years, going from 48.1 percent in 2014 to 60.5 in 2024. That is a massive shift that they put down to too much time in front of screens and poor food choices and eating habits. But, while these might be practical causes of obesity, I think they are symptoms of a larger problem (pun intended), where we have been influenced to believe that we are beautiful, no matter what we do.
I sound like an asshole at this point.
I sound like an asshole at most points, but this isn't about looks. The "beauty" I am talking about isn't about fat percentages or body shapes, it is referencing how we have been conditioned to feed our desires, even when it is making us worse off. While many think the body positivity movement is about helping people accept and love themselves, it is actually about increasing consumption of pretty much everything, whether it be food, media, or the many pharmacological interventions to combat the effects of too much food and media.
Now, when it comes to obesity, BMI is not a very good indicator, because it doesn't take into consideration muscle mass, with a lot of fit people having a high BMI, because they have a higher percentage of muscle which weighs significantly more than fat. I am BMI obese.
If I were to lose 20.3 kg, It would mean losing one of my legs at least. If I were to lose it in fat alone, I would probably be at around 4% fat or something like that, and be absolutely ripped up enough to be in a fitness magazine - with my face blurred. It just isn't practical given my level of muscle. But I could lose a few kilos for sure.
For the backward, 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds.
But again, this article isn't about fat, it is about unrealistic expectations. The narrative around unhealthy body image discussions tends to be because beauty "standards" in the media portray fit and thinner people, which puts social pressure on those who don't fit into that mould and can make them feel bad. I get it, especially in the world of tailored media today which is far, far more influential than people give it credit in their lives.
However, I think as far as average health goes for the majority of people, the bigger unrealistic expectation is that it is possible to keep consuming and behaving unhealthily and still be healthy. That it is fine and even good to keep feeding our desires, even if it means being unhealthy. In many instances, people seem to believe they are somehow morally superior when they accept themselves as their unhealthy condition, when what they are actually doing is accepting that they are unable to control their impulses to feed their desires.
It is a hedonistic approach to self-destruction.
And they don't feel good, mentally, physically, or emotionally. But it is definitely far easier and more convenient to be unhealthy than to be healthy, in a society and marketplace that itself has reduced its quality and social responsibility in the name of profits. The reason the global population is getting fatter is all in the name of profit. Culture has shifted based on what makes money and since we are convenience seekers, what makes money is what makes us more sedentary, more consumptive, less active. And it is a self-perpetuating cycle, because the more inactive we are, the more inactive we will become.
In all the Nordic countries, about a quarter of the population is "hyper-healthy" while another quarter eats far too poorly, doesn't exercise enough, while smoking and drinking too much. But it’s the 50 percent in the middle that we have a reasonable chance of influencing.
Hyper-healthy. It definitely isn't a quarter in Finland, but perhaps across the Nordics it might be. However, what is interesting is how few people are actually able to remain committed to being healthy, something that used to be a guiding principle for many in the past. And sure, while many will talk about mental health, I think the increasing numbers for mental health problems is a pretty clear indicator that whatever we are doing now, isn't working. It seems the more people have conditioned themselves to focus on their "mental health", the more people have instead chosen to prioritise their desire satisfaction at the expense of their mental and physical health, leading to worse outcomes on average.
There is a difference between accepting yourself as you are physically, and being happy. Acceptance doesn't automatically mean a better feeling, it can also be a resignation into accepting a worse feeling. For instance, after a stroke, I have to accept a whole lot of issues that have left me feeling worse, but accepting them doesn't mean I feel better. All it means is that I have to face the reality of current circumstances that I can't affect, and turn my focus to improving the areas that I can affect.
For the majority of people, they can affect their health, whether it be their physical or mental state. And for the majority of people, improvement doesn't come in the form of desire satisfaction through consumption of things that make physical and mental health worse. It comes in the form of positive action toward better conditions, even if it is difficult, painful, or uncomfortable. Even if goals aren't met and there are many failures and disappointments. Health isn't a simple outcome, it is a way of life, a journey. The goals aren't the goal, they just provide a direction in which to head for some aspects. It gives development direction, in the same way "getting to the moon" inspired all kinds of activities and innovations that wouldn't have been created otherwise.
For each of us, it is up to us how we operate our lives, so if people want to habituate into self-demise, it is up to them. But, if we are making our own decisions and are willing to accept our own bad habits, we also have to take responsibility for the journey we are undertaking. While they are influenced by external factors, each day we are making decisions for ourselves. It might be difficult, but we can change the decisions we make daily, to improve our conditions and therefore our experience throughout our own lives.
Accept yourself, doesn't mean resign yourself to only getting worse.
Many of us are struggling in many ways, but rarely is the easiest path going to improve our experience of life. And when it comes to wellbeing, quality of life and a life worth living, the easiest path tends not to be the one that creates the environment for them. It is finding solutions through the difficulties that make a worthy life, not finding the easiest way to avoid the difficulty now, only to have it worsen tomorrow. That is not a solution, it is a pain management strategy. And it fails every time.
While we have the ability to change ourselves, we are not terminal.
I am batting above my average in terms of the partner I have. I also face challenges that are quite different to the average compared to many others. Yet, if I resign myself to accept me as I am now and believe I can do nothing to improve, and believe that the best I can do is feed my momentary desires, life is just going to get increasingly worse, and I am going to feel increasingly worse for it. I am not going to give into the temptation to do what the advertising tells me to do, and consume no matter what it does to my mind and body.
Fuck that.
You do you.
Taraz
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