to be slightly disturbed at how obsessed Closer mag is with weight?

[bumcrumbs]

This is going to be lengthy so I apologise, but I think its worth discussing! I'm certainly not naive about celeb magazines at all, used to buy them frequently but hardly do any more. Before I start, I know, shock horror celeb magazine goes on about weight. It's just the quantity of the articles going on and on about weight loss! Most of these articles are 1 page long, some like the stupid Chanelle Hayes one are two pages.

So today I read this week's Closer magazine.

I was really surprised to see how many articles mentioned celebrity diets/weights. Even articles that don't start off about diets/weights mention their weight or how they want to diet because they think they're fat (when they weight nothing anyway!).

Articles

Victoria Beckham's pregancy - points out that she normally only eats fish and salads, that she's put 7lb on already(!)

Natalie Cassidy drops a dress size in 8 weeks - has gone from a size 14 to a 12 post baby, discusses how in 2007 she went from a curvy size 16 (12st) to a size 8 and a slim 8st 1lb.

Rachel Stevens with her baby - an article about her weight loss disguised as an article about her baby/post pregnancy. Is determined to be a size 8, how much weight she's lost, how fit she is now after having the baby. Then discusses her weight loss back from 2008, how she lost 3in off her waist and dropped from a size 10 to 8 and wants to get back to that size.

Size 8 Cat: Horse riding & champers keep me trim - basically an article she has probably written herself about how amazingly slim and fit she is, how her diet is all about portion control and healthy snacks, how she does shedloads of exercises, complete with "sources" adding what she eats and drinks.

Mel C Shows Off Her Sporty Body: How she lost weight after having her baby by exercise and dieting.

Full page celeb adverts for milk saying it's low fat. And one small none diet sensible sentence saying "Milk's a natural source of vitamins and minerals"

Jeff Brazier - saying has lost lots of weight doing DOI, gym sessions and yoga.

A-list mums to be: 3 out of 6 articles mention the celeb's plans for post pregnancy weight loss.

Shape Up! - Nadia Sawalha talking about losing 3.5st and keeping her size 10 figure, a load of other bollocks about skinny dinner, low cal foods and an advert for Closer diets. Next page another massive advert for Closer diets with celeb endorsements.

Chanelle Hayes: "If I get fat again, I 'll go under the knife!" - goes on about how fat she thought she was before having lipo (she was a sie 8/10 ffs), has lipo on thighs and arms "in bid to regain size 6 figure", "a whopping 3.5 litres of fat was drained from Chanelle's body in total, the equivalent of 8 inches". The moron then says "I don't know, maybe I'll get fat again and have to have more surgery. I don't know."

More adverts about low fat chips

AIBU to find their weight obsession disturbing? Are people really that interested in what a celeb weighs?

YANBU.

Making money in the diet industry must be like making money in the tobacco industry - flogging an addictive poison (mental in this case), how hard can it be?

Am I the only person in the world who has no idea what closer magazine is. Does it come free within Sunday newspapers?

Vile and full of loathsome drivel aimed at making you feel inferior and envious in equal measure, purely to make you buy the tat they are promoting. YANBU.

Burn them and read a good book.

YANBU absolutely could not agree more. These magazines make me SO angry the culture they are sustaining (yes I know it is chicken and egg and unfortunately it is women's demand that is driving them I am not blaming them entirely) this dreadful culture of judging and valuing women on the basis of their looks and weight whilst men are completely differently valued by character, job, intellect etc.

This is poisoning DD's 1+2 and the impact has been from SUCH a young age - could not believe it when they actually talked about weightloss/diets before age 10 it is so all pervasive they see it absolutely everywhere. ALthough obviously keep them away from mags like this they only have to look at any billboard or movie poster to see that stick thin is in/glamourous/desirable and there are no healthy women to be seen any more.

What incenses me even more is when these magazines do a feature on how wonderful it is that 'curvy' 'natural women' are back - illustrated by a picture of someone who is a size 8 but happens to have boobs - not at all a natural womanly shape - and then the next week they're blasting someone for being 'out of shape' and praising all these crazy dieters for getting down to unreal and unhealthy sizes. It is an absolute travesty, I could not agree with you more

I'm not familiar with this particular magazine, but it seems to me that most of these women's mags are all about making you feel bad about yourself so that you'll buy stuff from their advertisers and sponsors, whether it's diet books/plans/foods, or beauty or hair products or clothes that you don't particularly need or want. All about breaking down your self-esteem so you'll spend money in a desperate attempt to feel you're an acceptable excuse for a human being. Not nice.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Women's magazines mess with your mind. Don't read em and you'll save money and be a lot happier. And that's a promise .

Totally agree with chocolatemarshmallow.

YADNBU.

I don't buy any of these magazines any more. I've always had weight issues (thinking I was fat from age 14 when I was size 10 ) and it makes me so sad that my DDs will be growing up in a shallow, weight obsessed world.

Mrs Kitty, I lost 9 stone since March 2009. I did it by having a Vertical Gastric Sleeve operation. After many years of yoyo diet and weight regain plus a bit more. Before anyone starts I paid for it myself, no NHS budgets were harmed, in fact I am saving the NHS significantly as my need for meds has gone to virtually zero.

well done oldmumsy