Last week I was watching Father of the Bride II with a friend. In this movie, both the man’s wife and daughter are pregnant. There was a passing comment made by Steve Martin in the movie about the weight of these two women being around 130 pounds when they were over 8 months pregnant.
Let me just say (in complete agreement with my friend who also said it was absurd) that such a number is completely ridiculous. Consider these facts:
- Diane Keaton is 5 feet, 8 inches. (average normal weight is 126-150 pounds)
- Kimberly Williams is 5 feet, 6 inches. (average normal weight is 120-144 pounds)
- The average weight gain of a woman during pregnancy is around 24-35 pounds
At a bare minimum, the estimate given by the movie was at least 20% too low. Why do I nitpick as such a comment? It is this: be careful what you believe from watching a TV show or movie. In fact, it never hurts to verify anything you hear. What I quoted above was only five minutes of research on the web. And you are welcome to check my figures.
Ultimately, what I wonder is how many people accept such a figure as either true or partially true, and in doing so, contribute to their own personal guilt over weight or something else in their life. The images and figures we see on TV are just that – images. They are covered in makeup and made to appear much better than they are. It is unrealistic to compare oneself in any way to any TV or movie personality. In this example, the figure is a complete distortion of reality and adds nothing to its viewers except a completely unrealistic standard no one can or should attain.
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