I think each one of us would like to have the thigh gap. We would also like to be the crown princess of a glam European country. Well unfortunately neither is likely to happen. Actually, omit that. There are higher chances of us becoming a princess than there are of us getting a thigh gap. Not unless we are willing to go in for reconstructive surgery, at least. And I guess that’s never going to happen.
What is actually a ‘thigh gap’? Why is this thing taking over the world?
Theoretically, it’s simple: When you stand with your feet together and there’s a space between your thighs that is what the thigh gap is. But in practice, it’s very rare. Without resorting to drastic and dangerous measures, around 5% women in this world will have a thigh gap.
The thigh gap has become the latest most coveted accessory despite this or maybe because of this teeny, tiny percentage. It’s a trend that has launched many blogs, Tumblrs, memes, eating plans, workout regimes and what not! Followers who are passionate have also created Twitter and Facebook accounts dedicated to this super-skinny phenomenon, with more than 700,000 followers. There is even a very popular Twitter account devoted to Cara Delevingne’s who is largely seen as the torchbearer of this trend.
This doesn’t come as a newscast that young women are exploring yet another dangerous body goal but what’s truly agitating is that even being “skinny” is no longer the ultimate target for a lot of girls. The thigh gap has now become the peak of perfection: a measure of weight loss victory or defeat.
But this brand new body obsession is completely scary and questionable, for many reasons.
Why we will never have the thigh gap we desire?
Even if you are underweight you might have never seen even the slightest hint of a thigh gap on your frame. And neither will 95% women across the globe, even if they follow a diet and exercise down to a size 0.
The reason behind that is it’s more about your bone structure than your weight. You can refer to a recent episode of The Doctors where Dr. Travis Stork explained this really well. For the demonstration he brought along two women: one was a size 6 with a thigh gap, while the other was a size 0 without a thigh gap. Their hip X-rays disclosed that the skeletal structure conditions whether you will have a thigh gap or not: if your bones angle inwards and you have narrow hips, the thigh gap is practically impossible no matter how much you exercise or starve yourself. If your hips are broad, you may have a thigh gap regardless of your weight or size. And no dieting or fitness regimen is going to alter your bone structure, just the same as nothing can change your height.
As a matter of fact, a lot of doctors and other experts blame the advertising industry for creating unrealistic and unfeasible body ideal and its liberal use of Photoshop. “With photo editing and photo manipulation these days, most of these…are not even real images”, Lynn Grefe, president of the National Eating Disorders Association said.
Extreme measures
But needless to say a little biological or physical contrariety could never stop us in our quest for the present-day trend. Do you recollect the cotton ball diet? The IV transfusions? Likewise, the thigh gap is now being served up in many doctor’s office, using some doubtful measures.
For instance, top cosmetic surgery clinics have seen a rise in demand for Lipoglaze, a fat-freezing treatment, on the inner thigh area approximately more than 200%. It takes place by initially heating and then swiftly cooling the target area. This causes the fat cells to solidify and permanently destroys up to a third of fatty deposits every sitting. The body then simply gets rid of this waste tissue over a few weeks.
Few others talk about the more readily available liposuction, where the doctor makes an incision into your skin and then uses rods that have a small hole in the middle to suck out and remove the fat. The possible after-effects of this include swelling, bruising, soreness, oozing, an uneven skin surface and damage to the nerves and skin. And even death for a fraction of people.
Even women who are not comfortable with the surgical route fall prey to extreme dieting and exercising in their wish for the thigh gap. If you do a quick search you will find a great deal of teens committed to starving in the hopes of living up to this super-skinny trend. And when a goal like this becomes the measure of victory or defeat, it can be really unhealthy. Think what it would do to someone with an eating or exercise disorder!
It’s better to not run after these unrealistic expectations and rather focus on getting stronger, healthier and more toned overall. Let’s celebrate the thigh we have, gap or no gap!
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