Do people believe that being slim will solve their problems?

It is undeniable that there is a growing desire to become slim, and I am strongly of the opinion that the media are heavily influential and contribute a great deal to the stigmas attached to being overweight, or being a size bigger than the average. However, people neglect the fact that there are just as many stigmas attached to being slim, and that life's not a piece of cake for us either.

I've often heard it said that people who are slim make people who aren't unhappy, not necessarily through comments made, but simply because they put pressure on others to be slim also. This is not necessarily the case: I'm slim and I put no pressure on anybody to be the same. Nor do I ridicule others for being larger than me. This is my natural body shape in the same way as that is theirs.

People say they want to lose weight as it will give them confidence and would make them less self-conscious about their body. This is not always true either. I'm extremely self-conscious about my body. Just because I look good in somebody else's eyes, it doesn't necessarily mean that I look good in my own. We might not have the same hang-ups as people who are overweight, but they do exist.

People bully fat people because of their weight. This could not be any more true, but people bully slim people just as much. I would not be lying when I said that I have heard comments made about slim people with regards to them having eating disorders or controlling behaviours regarding food. Hurtful names such as "Twiggy" or "stick insect" - they hurt just as much as being compared to a beached whale. We are no less sensitive than anybody else.

I'm all for people losing weight and achieving a healthy body size, however, after having been on the receiving end of many rants concerning how slim people contribute to the misery of those who are chubby, overweight, or even obese, I thought it was about time to enlighten people to the fact that being slim is not the be all and end all of everything.