We are a nation of fat people. Pick up any newspaper or other media outlet in the western world and you are sure to find an article about the concerns health authorities and experts have about the "Obesity Problem". In fact it has got so bad that experts are predicting that obesity will become more of a health problem than smoking. What is worse is that while you don't see children under ten suffering from emphysema, you d

Unlike other "trends" however, obesity is not an issue that has been taken up as a niche target market by clothing manufacturers, car designers, furniture makers and other segments of the industrial and business world, who would have capitalized on virtually any other target market available. Although there are some designer labels that cater to larger men and women, the clothes available in larger retail stores cater for the "skinny" through to the "must watch our weight" range. For those of us who have given up watching our weight because now we can't miss it, finding clothes that fit, chairs that are comfortable, and cars that are easy to get into are becoming as rare as hen's teeth.

For older women the problem is even more evident. Although aging Baby Boomers are still one of the largest target markets in the western world, advertisers have decreed that even older men and women should be thin. While anybody with half a brain can understand that a life spent eating fatty foods while sitting on a couch is not healthy for a number of vital organs, there is little appreciation for what could be called "life symbols". Let me explain by example.

Jackie is a middle aged woman on the down hill slope to fifty years of age. She is also a "big" woman, weighing now what she used to be when she was nine months pregnant. Her weight gain is likely to be lifestyle based with a touch of genetics thrown in (all of her maternal relatives were big women too). Contrary to what experts predict about her lifestyle, Jackie is a happy and more importantly healthy woman. She walks for thirty minutes every day; she eats and drinks in moderation ensuring that she has plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables every day; she runs a small but busy business from home and she can't remember the last time she was off work because of illness.

When Jackie was asked if she believed she was overweight she answered quite truthfully that if left to her own devices she would have thought her body image was fine. But what she did say is that because she can't buy clothing off the rack of a department store very often, and because she has to be careful where she sits because she is likely to get stuck in those little plastic chairs that seemed designed more for children than full grown adults, she believes that she is made to feel she is overweight by her environment. And perhaps more significantly she is made to feel something is wrong with her.

In our interview Jackie said, "I know I am not a small woman, but I look at my body in private and think 'what is wrong with it'? I am not a skinny-mini, I never have been. I have five children and I probably gained a bit of weight with each one. But I look at my body with pride because it did carry five children; it does what I want it to do, and while I might not fit societal attitudes about what the ideal body weight should be, I know I am healthy, energetic and strong enough to do what I want and need to do in a day. So why should I change to fit society's ideas?"

Jackie makes a valid point. Surely there should be a time when women who have paid their dues; have given birth, raised their families and basically devoted at least twenty years of their life caring for someone else (even if they didn't have children of their own) don't have to conform to a societal image? That these women can be comfortable in their own skin and not be dictated to by a generation of (younger) people who don't appreciate the good things these women have done?

Society shows its disrespect for older woman through their constant comparison techniques between young and old (read thin and fat) to create a community in the western world at least where women of all ages should still conform to an unrealistic body image. And it is because of this societal pressure that businesses are failing to appreciate that there a number of older women at least that are secretly and passively rebelling. They don't watch their weight; they don't care about their body image. These women have too many other exciting things going on in their lives. It is only as a consumer that these women have to face societies rejection of them and who they are.

Good health is important, and this writer is not suggesting for a moment that women, or men for that matter, should deliberately go out and partake in at risk behaviours like overindulgence in fatty foods. Definitely overweight children should be told to get up off the couch and go outside and play. But on the other side of the coin this writer does believe that there should be a place in our society for women who are proud of who they are, proud of what they have achieved and who wear their body like an old coat they are immensely comfortable in.

So if you are looking for the next "best business idea" then maybe you should start considering one of the largest target markets there are in society today, and how you could make money through appreciating the value of the older woman, and start thinking fat, rather than thin.

About the Author

Lisa Oliver is a larger, older woman who works as a freelance writer from home in the wilds of Kaihu, Northland, NZ. When she is not working on her latest book, or spending time with her children, step-children and grandchildren, she works to help others improve their business with ebook and article promotion services. You can learn more about those services via her site http://www.olivergrouppublications.com/services/content.htm