Big Britain.

Britain's state of health has come under serious scrutiny over the last decade, with more and more people hitting the both ends of the weight extremes spectrum.

I believe we are one of the countries most obsessed about our appearance and attractiveness to others and often this results in preconceptions before we've even opened our mouths.

The average size for a UK woman is now a size 16 and since the 1950s, the average woman's waist size has increased 7 inches. I understand every woman deserves to feel comfortable in her skin, and feel beautiful no matter what, but the reality of our increasing waistline average is the increasing amount of media that circulates the message that big is now the norm.

Programmes such as 'Big Ballet' and 'My Big fat Fetish' are increasingly becoming popular, as TV producers latch on to the ever-increasing national average. As a result of these figures, magazines have begun to include plus sized women in their shoots and plus sized mannequins in their shop windows.

The thing I worry about is that as more and more media display the idea of plus size being normality, the more people will justify their poor state of health as nothing more than the norm.

When is enough, enough? Will we suddenly be promoting 30stone women and men as attractive, simply because everyone has the right to feel good in their skin?

One of the of the many reasons I didn't lose weight for so long is that I constantly compared myself to 'bigger' women and justified by size as being 'better than them' and therefore okay.

The emphasis should not be on size, shape, or attractiveness, the emphasis should be placed upon whether that individual is healthy, and whether they are therefore promoting an aspirational figure for children and others to look up to, or simply suggesting health should take a back seat for confidence and self-esteem.

If I eventually have children I hope one day to value themselves enough to want to life to the max, I will encourage them to pursue their dreams, but I will not encourage a sedately lifestyle simply because 'everyone else is doing it'.

It's this lazy, complacent attitude that prevents people living life to their full potential. An overweight person may be 'happy in their own skin' but chances are they are cutting their life short and therefore the long-term effects are far worse than the effort needed to be healthy.

I constantly found myself at one stage, being used to being the 'funny, fat one' but just because it was the norm for me at the time, does not mean it was right and who knows where I'd be if I hadn't made a change. We all need to stop focusing on what the media tells us, what programmes tell us and listen carefully to what our bodies tell us. We should have energy, we shouldn't be lethargic, our thighs shouldn't rub together when we walk and cause painful aches on our joints, and just because they do now, doesn't make it right.

I was once the one struggling up the stairs, and crying in PE, I was also once the one who looked at the girls in the magazines and thought I'd never ever become comfortable in my own skin. I am far from where I want to be but instead of focusing on what society wants me to be, I'm focusing on living my life the healthiest way, so eventually I can look back when I'm old and grey and be proud I took control of my life.