Perfect body: does it really exist?

If you had, right now, the power to design your own physical shapes, what kind of body would you choose: thick legs, butt and big breasts… Or a leaner one, without so many curves? After all, what is the “perfect body” that so many women are looking for nowadays?!

Some people would certainly choose the first option; others would have no hesitation in deciding on the latter. But the divergence of opinions would serve exactly to show that there is no single standard of beauty that pleases Greeks and Trojans, but different points of view.

However, it is also a fact that, nowadays, much is said about “achieving a perfect body” and this idea has been a constant concern among men and women.

Psychologist Luciana Kotaka, specialist in Obesity and Eating Disorders and co-author of the books Skinny Behavior with Health and Pleasure and Skinny Stomach versus Fat Thought, explains that “the achievement of the perfect body” has been a dream for many people, as it represents health, power , status, increases self-esteem and also gives a false sense of happiness. “People are pretty dissatisfied with their bodies, so they focus on physical activity and diet as a way to achieve that goal,” she says.

Also according to the professional, this concern has been growing more and more due to the dissemination of the thin and/or strong body as a synonym for beauty. “This is a problem that we’ve been facing for some time and that doesn’t seem to change anytime soon, despite campaigns like, for example, that of Dove, showing the real beauty of women, among other companies with the same focus”, he explains.

How healthy is it?

Everyone knows that investing in good nutrition and practicing physical activities is essential to ensure better health and quality of life. However, when the only objective of the person becomes to conquer a body – considered by the majority – perfect, the union of these two factors can go for an inverse way.

That’s because, many people end up making major restrictions on their menu and/or adhering to fad diets, without worrying about their health. Some bet on the use of supplements, without even consulting a professional; while others even rely on the help of drugs to achieve their goals.

In this sense, the question remains: to what extent is the search for the “perfect body” healthy?

Luciana Kotaka highlights that balance is always healthy. “We can choose to have a healthy diet, practice physical activities, but in a balanced way, to seek health”, she explains.

The psychologist adds that the search for the “perfect body” starts to become something negative when the person’s focus is just this: he only thinks about working out, seeks readings on the subject and everything revolves around resources to achieve a beautiful body. .

Regarding food, Luciana highlights that there is orthorexia, which is a pathology resulting from radicalism in search of healthy eating. “It happens when a person becomes obsessive about the quality of the food they consume, and may even experience malnutrition.

This obsession with food choice, over time, increases the list of avoided foods until she doesn’t eat any food that is not strictly chosen, whose origin is not known or that she grows herself”, she explains. “Everything a person will consume is measured and evaluated, calories, nutrients, vitamins, as they obsessively think about what they are going to eat all the time,” she adds.

harm

In addition to the pathology mentioned above, the excessive search for a body considered perfect can trigger serious health problems, not to mention other eating disorders, which require difficult and multidisciplinary treatments.

But the risks don’t stop there. Luciana Kotaka highlights that this concern with achieving a perfect body can generate a series of situations that end up complicating the life of the person in question, their family and social life. “It can generate stress and even withdrawal from social life. Normally, when the person focuses only on this search, he ally himself with people with the same objective, which makes this coexistence even more difficult. That’s because the focus is only on looking beautiful and then you lose interest in other situations”, she explains.

Acceptance

Thus, it is clear that excessive concern with achieving a perfect body can generate several problems to the health and social life of the person in question. In addition, it is nothing more than an illusory idea, since there is not – and never will be – a single type of body considered the ideal. And beauty, too, is a matter of opinion.

It is essential, yes, that the person follows a healthy diet and practices physical activities, but seeking, in the first place, benefits to their health.

It is also important that she feels good about her body, about her appearance. However, for that to happen, she must never forget that she is a unique person, with her own characteristics, which makes any comparison with the physical forms of other people useless and meaningless.