Editorial: Time to embrace diversity

Amy Wiggins.

Obesity is at epidemic levels in New Zealand and it is important to maintain a healthy weight but going to the other extreme is just as unhealthy.

Stick thin models and perfectly proportioned movie stars are held up as the ideal but those most vulnerable often don't consider what goes into looking that way.

Image is key for many celebrities so they spend hours every day working out with personal trainers and getting advice from nutritionists. It's basically part of their job.

Working out and eating well is the best way to get in shape but for many of us the cost and time required makes it difficult.

Worse still is that most photos and videos these days are manipulated and edited to make the star look impossibly perfect.

Blemishes are removed, waistlines shrunk, busts enhanced. If celebrities who spend hours working out and perfecting their image need touching up, how much more do you and I?

Sadly many of us still strive for the impossibly perfect image, and some people sacrifice their health to do so.

Good Talks director Rachel Hansen, who teaches workshops with groups of people about how to love and trust your body, said there had been a big increase in focus on appearance among teenagers today thanks to the rise of social media.

You can hardly go a day now without seeing someone taking a selfie.

Ms Hansen said teenagers often spent a lot of time editing those selfies before posting them. It's a sad state of affairs.

People are far too quick to judge based on appearance.

It's no wonder so many people have body image issues.

We need to encourage each other to live a healthy lifestyle rather than strive for that impossibly perfect body.

Everyone is different and that's what makes our world so great.