Self-Confidence and Body Image

With the recent Oscar nominations for the movie Precious, the breakout actress Gabourey Sidibe has been getting a lot of attention. I watched that movie in the theaters and it was a devastating portrait of a suffering, abused teenager. Gabourey's (Gabby) performance was incredible, especially since this was her first movie role. In real life, Gabby's personality is bubbly and her demeanor poised and confident.

In an interview for New York Magazine, Gabby has stated,“They try to paint the picture that I was this downtrodden, ugly girl who was unpopular in school and in life, and then I got this role and now I’m awesome, but the truth is that I’ve been awesome, and then I got this role.”

In another interview, when asked what she sees in the mirror, Gabby responded:

"Ooh! I see myself! Usually, I'm really happy with what I see when I look at myself. I look into the mirror and I give myself pep talks, and coach myself to make it through the day, which isn't hard to do. I congratulate myself for making it this far in life and for being the person I want to be."

That kind of self-confidence is amazing, and is hopefully the way that all young girls should view themselves. Gabby is a talented actress and has accomplished a lot with this first movie of hers.

While most interviewers completely ignore Gabby's size or tiptoe around the issue, there is no escaping the fact that she is obese. In the movie, the implied message was that her character's obesity was a symptom of the oppressive situation. Several scenes depict Precious frying up unhealthy foods, and the abusive mother uses food as a way of controlling and punishing Precious.

While Gabby's family and personal situation seems to be healthy and normal and completely unlike her character's, her morbid obesity is evidence in itself that she has an unhealthy relationship with food. Her reasons for overeating are unknown. However, while it is wonderful that Gabby loves herself and expresses well-deserved confidence, it does not change the fact that being obese is not healthy. In fact obesity is a risk factor for many diseases and illnesses, including:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Breathing problems
• Arthritis
• Gallbladder disease
• Some kinds of cancer

So, while I wish Gabby the best of luck in her career and life, I also hope that she is able to find the inner strength to address her weight issues and able to make her body as healthy as her attitude.

Today's workout:
90 min. run (10 mi)
50 min yoga