No woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess (公爵夫人) of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue.
    The problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently, I have been on a diet for the better — or worse — part of my life. Being rich wouldn’t be bad either, but that won’t happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land, leaving me millions of dollars.
    Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin, and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating and excessive eating is one of Christianity’s seven deadly sins. However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals, and fatness a sign of wealth and well-being.
    Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. The result is that being fat — or even only somewhat overweight — is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength.
    Our obsession (迷恋) with thinness is also fueled by health concerns. It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before, and that, in many cases, being over-weight correlates with an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases, however, many have as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more of a dietary problem — too much fat and a lack of fiber — than a weight problem.
    The real concern, then, is not that we weigh too much, but that we neither exercise enough nor eat well. Exercise is necessary for strong bones and both heart and lung health. A balanced diet without a lot of fat can also help the body avoid many diseases. We should surely stop paying so much attention to weight. Simply being thin is not enough. It is actually hazardous if those who get (or already are) thin think they are automatically healthy and thus free form paying attention to their overall life-style. Thinness can be pure vainglory (虚荣).