As an overweight teenager, I think it’s pretty safe to say that I understand the difficulties that children and teenagers face every day due to the fact that they don’t fit into the idea of what society has us believe is the “perfect” body size.

According to Scientific American magazine, one of every three children under the age of 18 is obese, making being overweight the most common childhood medical condition. That means, in America, over 2 million children under the age of 18 are obese.

For health reasons, these numbers are upsetting. However, society and the media have made every boy think he should look like David Beckham and made every girl think she should look like Miranda Kerr. Anyone who doesn’t resemble that standard is thought of as not good enough.

Think about it, from middle school and onward, teens are taught to aspire to look like Victoria’s Secret models or one of the “Sexiest Men” in America. But, some children simply don’t look like that. Portions of the “one of every three children” statistic were born with an overweight gene, so it’s not a decision. And why should the children who are overweight, for any reason, be judged? If they’re comfortable with it, then why can’t everyone else be?

What I don’t understand is why a bully, a teenager who uses drugs, or anyone else for that matter, seems to be more accepted overall than a child who is overweight. According to www.obesityaction.org, 58 percent of boys and 63 percent of girls in high school are experiencing daily teasing, bullying, or rejection because of their size, and the numbers are rising. “Manning up” isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Aside from the well-publicized suicides committed by gay teens, teenagers have also been taking their lives due to rejection because of their weight.

If teenagers started thinking for themselves instead of following the “norm” then crises like these could be avoided. If one child stood up and said, “I’m fine with the way I am,” a chain reaction could be started. It takes only one person, with one voice, to make a difference.