"Fat" is the F - word in a girl's dictionary. I cannot bear that word as it makes me feel so self conscious. When I see my friends called fat I can see their self esteem becoming lower. The kids in my school who are overweight on the other hand are impacted the most when they are teased about the way they look. Once I was so hurt for my friend (who was on the chubby side) so affected by the taunts that she could no longer take it and changed schools. Yet even now in the other school she is teased constantly much to her despair.

Running away is never the answer to a problem. I learnt this the evening that my friend who had left school had come over to my house and cried for hours about how she hated the fact that everyone teased her for her figure. A figure that I had grown to love and uniquely identify as hers. Why would I change it because of a comment made by some one I didn't even like?

Another girl I knew, was obsessed with the way she looked. She was like a diva. One day all her self esteem came crashing down when a mindless boy whom she had never talked to in her life called her the F - word. She stopped eating overnight.

I tried to make her eat atleast one sandwich during recess in school but she was impossible! I believed she had one meagre meal a day and only because her mother would force her! That meal would usually consist of a bowl of fruits or vegetables. She did lose weight of course but not in a very healthy way. I watched my friend gain a whole new body. A body that she wasn't comfortable in.

She is currently, is very unhealthy, possibly even anorexic. Can fourteen year old be anorexic? She has so many unique features like her big and bright eyes or her long and dark eyelashes. Yet, she fails to notice this - in fact the only thing she notices seems to be the numbers on the weighing scale! I think the reason why she cares so much about what other people think is because like most of her friends, wants to be thin. It doesn't matter if she's short or tall but being thin is what matters.

If you are actually overweight or obese you have to do something about it. You cannot crib and feel sorry for your self but put your foot down and make the problem go away. Eat healthy, not less. Dieting can actually make you put on more weight - believe it or not.

You can eat junk food once in a while, just make sure you burn it off by exercising enough. Excercise can mean having fun too - playing a sport or just running around with friends for a few hours in the fresh air will also do. In the end it doesn't matter how you are shaped but whether you are healthy. As long as you are eating the right food and getting a reasonable amount of exercise you don't have to worry about your figure. If you do want to change your shape don't do it for others, do it for yourself!