Food and body image in the series

[sharana.geo]

No: HPFGUIDX 68137

I think we all agree that a healthy slim body comes from the 
combination of two factors:

1.- A healthy way of eating
2.- Exercise

The problems arise in what we consider is 
3.- A healthy way of eating 
4.- What type of exercise is enough, and the amount of exercise 
needed.

The answer to 3 are 4 are really complex because we have to consider 
many variables, and we know there isn't one unique answer. Some 
variables that affect us are:

a.- Age
b.- Activities we normally do
c.- Hormone (chemical) balance of the body
d.- Metabolism
e.- Climate
f.- Type of food we normally eat
g.- Amount of food we eat
h.- Number of times a day we eat

I'd like to focus on a few things that haven't been mentioned up to 
now.


b - Activities we normally do:

Beth wrote:
> Exercise-wise, I suppose Harry & Ron play Quidditch, but Hermione
> doesn't seem to get any exercise at all.  *HOW* are they not all
> bursting out of their robes??!!

They exercise much more than this. Hogwarts is a big castle, they 
don't have elevators, they use stairs. I can't imagine a normal 
DADA, Transfiguration, Charms class sitting down the whole hour 
without moving. Imagine a class with Hagrid, sitting still. It 
doesn't happen. They cast spells, they duel in classes (as a way to 
practice spells). They go to the lake to play, to study, they move 
around a lot. They consume energy. Yes they use brooms, but you have 
to grab on to it.

If you compare this to our average life: Kids usually have a much 
more sedentary life: Playstation, GameBoys, PC's, TV, etc. are very 
common. We use elevators, mechanical stairways, cars, etc. We hardly 
move around, so we must compensate the lack of movement, by 
consciously including some kind of exercise in our life. 
Many "Experts" say that you at least must walk 20 minutes a day, 
some force on Aerobics, etc. There are many "Formulas". To me, the 
real issue is that we need to change our lifestyle and not be so 
sedentary. I've known 5 people in my life that are SO lazy, that 
instead of walking a block, they wait for the bus or take their car.


c.- Hormone (chemical) balance of the body

As food is chemically transformed in the body and used. Our body 
reacts in different ways to what you put in it and not all bodies 
react the same way. This is the main reason why you are supposed to 
follow a diet supervised by a doctor. What works for you may not 
work for me. For example: I know people who Coffee keeps them awake, 
other people that Coffee does not affect them at all, and other 
people who feel sleepy after a cup of Coffee. 

e - Climate:

I was born and I live in a Tropical climate, the days are hot all 
around the year. In fact I can't remember when was the last time I 
put on a sweater on the street, it was some years ago. I 
occasionally use a sweater when I'm in an air conditioning 
environment, but not always, as I welcome the cold temperature. But 
I belong to the first generation in my family (along with my 
cousins) that was born in Tropical Climate. My family migrated from 
Europe in the 50's. I was raised eating and loving Pork meat, cooked 
in many different ways, as my family's tradition. But because I live 
in a hot climate, almost no one I know (outside my family) eats Pork 
(certainly not so frequently) and it is usually banished from Diet 
Regimes, it is considered (especially the Pork's fat) to be 
extremely heavy to the metabolism, especially to the heart. 

In cold climates, when you shiver, the body is consuming energy 
stored in it to keep itself warm, so you eat heavy foods, in order 
to be able to store the extra energy. 

I'm overweight (around 30 kg.), and I love eating (especially cakes 
and chocolate), but even though I love Pork and I eat it frequently, 
I do not accompany the Pork with carbohydrates, because if I do, I 
get a Headache (because of the hot climate). I couple of years ago I 
spent 3 weeks in Europe, and those 3 weeks I ate a lot heavier than 
I usually eat at home, every meal was that kind of meal that at home 
would give me headaches, really heavy. I don't normally drink, not 
even wine,  but those 3 weeks I had wine at every meal, even for 
breakfast. There's a local drink which has an alcoholic level of 57% 
that I had particularly for breakfast, almost everyday. To keep me 
warm, it was SO cold, I didn't even get dizzy. 

After those 3 weeks, I did not gain weight, I lost 5 kg. It was so 
cold where we were that all that extra heavy food burned to help me 
stay heated. My body is accostumed (although not happy) to a hot 
climate, the shock of a cold climate was big so my metabolism 
accelerated.

Hogwarts is described to be far north, so it's cold, even for Harry 
who lives in Privet Drive (which is not a Tropical climate). There 
are many references in the books as to how chillingly cold it is, 
most part of the year. Even the visits to Hogsmeade are programmed 
for after January (because of the cold). So even if the kids sit 
around all day, they still burn calories to keep their bodies warm. 


h.- Number of times a day we eat

I know some diets that say that in order to not gain weight, you 
should eat at least 5 times a day, smaller portions, instead of 3 
times a day, larger portions.


f.- Type of food we normally eat
g.- Amount of food we eat


Beth wrote:
> The portrayal of Dudley and his weight problem also bugs me.  We
> hear how overweight he is, yet when he is forced to diet, all we
> hear about is Harry sneaking upstairs after eating his grapefruit
> to have a "proper breakfast" of cake.  I don't think this is
> sending out a good message to young readers about healthy eating. 
> Also, when Fleur complains about the heavy Hogwarts food, she is
> dismissed as being vain and shallow.

I know a sweet girl who is 9 years old, she has a crazy mother that 
wants her to have only 3 grapes for breakfast, 3 grapes for supper 
and a salad (with nor carbohydrates) for lunch. Of course the kid is 
starving to death, every time her mother is not with her she eats 
anything that will fall in her hands, and desperately, it's the only 
thing she has in mind. I feel so sorry for her, and I try to give 
her some healthy balanced food when ever I see her, but that kid is 
going to be really fat when she grows up, she's got a severe food 
trauma.

I don't know if you've realized how our societies seem to mix up 
food with love (especially chocolate). Dudley is a spoiled kid.  One 
way that Petunia has to show her affection to her son is by making 
sure he has eaten enough (at least in the first books), and it was a 
real shock for Petunia and Vernon when Dudley's Doctor told them 
that he HAD to diet. Harry grew up in this environment, so in a way, 
to him a cake is proper breakfast because it is comfort food.

Besides, remember all those times that it's mentioned that the 
Dursleys starve Harry. While they give Dudley everything, Harry has 
the left overs, and they many times punish him including his meals. 
How many meals did Harry skip with the Dursleys, or had to share 
with Hedwig. There are many pages devoted as how to Harry placates 
his hunger with the cakes or sweets Ron, Hermione and Molly manage 
to send him for his birthdays. Do you believe that a boy that is 
growing up, developing into a man can survive with a Grapefruit as 
breakfast?

Have you realized all those times in the books that the kids skip 
their meals? When Harry is punished and stuck with Umbridge he does 
not have supper, and I remember in other books, Ron and Hermione, 
save some food for Harry to eat later, plus the times they use 
eating hours to do something else, or are traumatized enough about 
something that they are not hungry.



Jenny wrote:
> Harry *thinks* his cake breakfast is proper.  For him, a nice piece
> of cake may be just right.  Remember, it doesn't say that Harry
> went upstairs for a "better" or "more healthy" breakfast of cake. 
> Cake for breakfast tastes good, unhealthy as it is.  Harry has
> dealt with not having enough to eat for 14 years in GoF; let him
> eat cake if he wants to!

I agree with you completely. To have a cake once in a while does not 
hurt, to have it every meal does.

I have a cousin who will only eat cake as breakfast or at 5 o'clock 
when she needs something sweet to eat. She won't touch a cake at any 
other hour of the day. At birthdays she will wrap her piece of cake 
up and eat it as breakfast the next morning. She's thin and healthy 
looking by the way.

Jenny wrote:
> I know that I don't read the books to hear JKR or anyone else
> preach to me about how I should eat.  I am an American woman who
> hears and sees everywhere I go that I should eat nothing but
> lettuce and exercise like a fiend every day so I can be a size 2. 

I struggle with my weight too, and I honestly do not believe in any 
of those diets and theories of the "Experts" on how to have a 
healthy life. Today they say that wine helps with digestion, and 
tomorrow they discover it doesn't. Did you know almost all fruits 
you eat help you gain weight?

Our societies (at least in America) make us believe that if we have 
even an inch of fat on our body, then we're not worth anything. This 
is strongly reinforced everyday, in TV, Movies, colleagues, etc. And 
eating lettuce isn't the answer. We suffer from many psychological 
pressures; we should stop feeling guilty about what we love to eat. 

Fat-free products are worse than the products they suppose to 
replace, to start with, they are not healthy, they cause secondary 
effects, they are artificial products, which the body has a harder 
time breaking down. And people believe that because it's fat free 
they can eat ten times more the amount of it, than the product they 
are replacing.

I believe that the best healthy way to live is eating what you like, 
whenever you like, but with measure; And to lead a less sedentary 
life. The key is to maintain a balance.  Whenever you slide to one 
extreme, it goes all wrong, if you starve today, tomorrow you'll eat 
4 times more to compensate.

I think that JKR has handled this issue quite well. Someone 
mentioned (sorry forgot who) that the kids eat vegetables frequently 
and they drink healthy things (instaed of Soda's). And I was glad 
when she addressed Dudley's need to diet, it's a message saying that 
ovvereating does bring problems to your health. But she does not 
over address the issue, so she isn't creating psychological pressure 
on it.

Sharana