Throughout our lifetime, we are taught to love everything about ourselves, inside and out. We are taught to love others for who they are as individuals and not by their appearances. But with decades worth of impressions from many magazines, television shows, celebrities, and from our own peers’ opinions and influences, the pressure to look a certain way has become an obsession in the U.S. and even globally.

The pressure to be thin is the first of the evils as it has struck at youngsters in girls and expands onto the 20, 30 and even 40-somethings in women as well. Women look up to many known-to-be-thin celebrities like Miley Syrus, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Jaime Lynn Spears, Rihanna, Vanessa Hudgens, or Jessica Simpson because of how popular and how “beautiful” they are. They become their idols because they want to be just like them to get either attention from their friends or even have someone romantically to like them just for their appearance.

On television, shows like “America’s Next Top Model,” “The Bachelor,” “The Biggest Loser” and “American Idol” have certainly fed on the idea that being thin, plastic surgery, breast implants and other forms of “beautifying yourself” is the way to be happy and loved in life. American media has continuously turned tables on women secretly to keep the message going that thin will always be in.

However, being thin does not always mean beautiful. It is truly on the eye of the beholder because people have different preferences in women’s shape and sizes. Some like bigger-built women while some love thin women. But no woman should feel pressured to be thin! The misconception is that if a person is thin, they are automatically healthy. Some thinner-built women may have other health conditions that one may not be able to see from the naked eye.

If weight-loss is a goal, try focusing on healthier eating with more vegetables, less red meats and more meats like chicken and fish and reduce serving portions, gradually. Exercise is also very essential for a healthy lifestyle.

As long as you are healthy, you are beautiful.