Prints, cropped tops and faux leather. These are all the hottest trends of the Spring, but did you know that there is a new weight loss trend referred to as the “thigh gap”?! If you aren’t familiar with this, it is a small space with a huge following. When I say following, yes I mean people have actually created Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram pages solely dedicated to their infamous “thigh gap”. It’s quite absurd, but I don’t know what’s worse: people taking pictures of their thigh gap progress, or the women drooling over it! You will often even see it in the media. Beyonce Knowles sported her thigh gap on the front of the February 2013 issue of GQ magazine. More and more women are becoming absolutely obsessed with creating this space between their legs, and quite frankly, it is time that they all get a reality check.
The problem with this new fad is that research is showing that there is no healthy way to achieve this. According to Laura Tosi, a pediatric orthopedist and director of the bone health program at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., “There are a number of factors that play into whether a woman has a significant thigh gap, including genetics, ethnicity, pelvic size and width.” “Weight loss is proportional, so most women who don’t have a natural gap — one bigger than a peephole — would have to lose a lot of weight to achieve the kind of thighs coveted on social media.”
What women need to realize is that body image is internalized. You cannot change your diet to achieve this unnecessary “beauty trait”. According to Vonda Wright, M.D., author of Guide to Thrive: 4 Steps to Body, Brains, and Bliss, “Very few women have a large gap between their thighs.” “Even if you have wide hips, your legs can still touch if you have a lot of muscle.”
The 1 Place You Shouldn’t Lose Weight was originally published on blackdoctor.org
