Oh boy, now she's done it: "It's better to be skinny than fat."

[Morrison_Lad]

Last week at a models panel in England, Natalia Vodianova said, "C'mon guys. We all know it's better to be skinny than fat."

This was part of a larger discussion between Lily Cole, Eva Herzigova, and Vodianova about physiques, cultural differences in what's thought of as beautiful, and more. But of course, the line that stands out and causes all the yelling and outrage is Vodianova's.

And as a middle-aged man who's rounder around the middle than I used to be, and than I would like to be, my first reaction was, "Yeah. Obviously." But there seems to be some sort of monster outrage at various sites over what seems to me to be a fairly non-controversial comment.

It seems obvious to me. Is it just me?

[Corrina]

It depends how one defines "skinny" and "fat." And supermodels talking about skinny are probably going to not be well-heard by normal-looking women.

It's healthier in general but too skinny is bad--witness my mother, who has a thyroid issue and can't gain weight. When she came down with diabetes, it was so hard for her to gain weight and avoid sugar & carbs. She's super-model thin and always has been. Whereas some size 8-12 women are perfectly healthy.

It is not good to be carrying extra weight and fat from a health-standpoint. But often this question is accessed not from the health side but from the looks side.

[Dreg]

If she's talking about how society reacts to a woman, I would agree, although the degree that it matters and with whom can vary pretty wildly. It's not a truth I believe is justified, but it's there.

If she's talking about health-related issues, I would disagree. Being thin is not iron-clad evidence of being healthy. high-blood pressure and high cholesterol can also exist in thin people and be even more deadly.

[zemo]

It all depends on culture and biology. I am in India right now, and I have seen advertisements promising skinny women to help getting rid of those pokey bones and put on some weight. The whole skinny and dieting stuff is a fad, it has been hyped, and it's a solely cultural thing.

Now if you look at it biologically, then a certain amount of fat is actually an evolutionary advantage. Apart from storage for bad times, it's also a cushion for those hard cave floors, and it even offers protection, to a degree where gladiators used to have a special diet to put on a good amount of fat that would protect them from cutting weapons.

Being skinny is only better because the Western cultures have, for now, established that someone who is fat is lazy, stupid, and unattractive. I'd rather prefer minds changed, and not bodies.

[Morrison_Lad]

I would argue that almost all women sizes 8-12 are perfectly healthy, at least as far as their weight is concerned. Size 12 isn't very big, at least the way they measure the sizes these days.

But of course it depends on the definition, and the extent. And as I said, this was in a larger context. I'm trying to find an actual transcript, because the couple places I read about it just cherry picked "choice" quotes to make the models look conceited or controversial. Vodianova was talking about obesity as a problem in England, with parents being accused of child abuse when their children were obese, and the like. And that's when she said what she did.

Granted, coming from a super-model, that's why it's controversial. But apparently earlier in the panel, Lily Cole said something along the lines of how they (models) accept that they had been gifted with genetics, that they essentially "had it easy" given their genetics and metabolisms. I suppose that that could also come off as ... aloof? But it wouldn't be any different than Miguel Cabrera saying something like, "Hey, I was born with a strong body and great hand-eye co-ordination."

It's just true.

Anyways, I really need to find a transcript or video. Because it's clear, to anyone who knows anything about Vodianova who's run half-marathons, given birth (I think) three times, etc., that she isn't unhealthy. She's just "skinny."

[Karen El]

If she's talking about how society reacts to a woman, I would agree, although the degree that it matters and with whom can vary pretty wildly. It's not a truth I believe is justified, but it's there.

If she's talking about health-related issues, I would disagree. Being thin is not iron-clad evidence of being healthy. high-blood pressure and high cholesterol can also exist in thin people and be even more deadly.

Particularly when you are talking model-thin. That's what is known medically as dangerously underweight. When already thin models get their bodies airbrushed even thinner to look more 'glamorous' there's nothing healthy about aspiring to their body type.

And claiming that it is in some way 'better' just encourages girls to hate their shape, even if they are naturally ectomorph. The majority of women don't have careers that revolve around keeping their bodies 'perfect'.

[Morrison_Lad]

Being skinny is only better because the Western cultures have, for now, established that someone who is fat is lazy, stupid, and unattractive. I'd rather prefer minds changed, and not bodies.

When Vodianova said "skinny" I think she meant slightly underweight. I hardly think that someone who has dealt with anorexia in the past would be saying that everyone should have an eating disorder.

Anyways, it's interesting. I live in the US, obviously. And when I travelled to Europe a couple times (Rome, Florence, Paris, etc.), the difference was amazing. You can walk up and down and all over Paris, at least in my experience, and most of the people are about normal weight, or thinner. It's not that way here in the US at all. It was really rare to come across someone who was obese in say Rome or Paris. But walk down the street in any city in the US -- and yes, that even includes L.A. -- and it's not rare at all. Almost every single obese person I saw in Paris had a camera around his or her neck and was looking at a map.

So, it's definitely cultural. But I don't think it's just a Western vs. other cultures thing.

[Morrison_Lad]

Particularly when you are talking model-thin. That's what is known medically as dangerously underweight. When already thin models get their bodies airbrushed even thinner to look more 'glamorous' there's nothing healthy about aspiring to their body type.

And claiming that it is in some way 'better' just encourages girls to hate their shape, even if they are naturally ectomorph. The majority of women don't have careers that revolve around keeping their bodies 'perfect'.

Yeah, but on the other hand, look at Victoria Beckham. The woman is way thinner than most runway models. WAY thinner. But she's given birth to four kids, walks the cities of the world in 5" stilettos -- I mean, how unhealthy can she actually be? Most people have problems walking a block in the sorts of shoes she wears, yet she spends all day shopping, walking around, carrying a baby.

She can't be that unhealthy.

Note: I'm not saying that people should aspire to look like Posh. She is ridiculously thin. Though, to be honest, she's so often dressed so chic, it doesn't take away from the way she looks. But that might be just me.

[Morrison_Lad]

OK, found this:

"The only diet I have ever done is the blood type diet - I have done it for five years now," said Vodianova. "The big contracts go to the girls who are healthy - they need to have a sparkle in their eyes and you can't fake that if you're unhealthy."

"I run once a year - I do the marathon for my charity," she added. "I don't train, I just make sure my children are the other side of the finishing line so I won't give up. But I change my mind with these things, once I did yoga every day for a whole year. When the year came to an end I was very happy to stop."

Wow. A "Blood type diet?!" I am going to have to search about this.

[AthenAltena]

Particularly when you are talking model-thin. That's what is known medically as dangerously underweight. When already thin models get their bodies airbrushed even thinner to look more 'glamorous' there's nothing healthy about aspiring to their body type.

And claiming that it is in some way 'better' just encourages girls to hate their shape, even if they are naturally ectomorph. The majority of women don't have careers that revolve around keeping their bodies 'perfect'.

Not to mention that a lot of women who are model thin and aren't so naturally don't have normal menstrual cycles, if they get them at all. When you get to that point you're in serious trouble since your body will shut it off and essentially start reverting to childhood. That's a really bad sign, and why most doctors ask you about that when you go to see them.

Also blood type diets are largely bullshit, and most of what they have you eat is good for you for other reasons.