Do Africans believe in Obesity?

Yes we do, although it is always a compliment when someone tells you have gained weight, there is a line when you cross, you are considered obese or fat. In Kiswahili language we have some of the ugliest and disgusting names for obese and very thin people that anyone becomes offended when used to describe them.

For a Swahili woman to be a total package she must be curvy and her legs and arms must be smooth and rounded, no hard muscles protruding like with the western women. Muscles on women is considered very ugly, unattractive, unsexy and repels men.
Masculine legs and arms should be men’s. The waist must be clearly defined and from behind you should be able to differentiate her shoulders, waist and below. The back should not be straight like a vertical wall.


An example of a perfect curvy woman that would turn on most African men is Oprah. That is the way a perfect African Woman’s body must be from head to toe and that should also be the maximum weight, beyond that it becomes ugly.

For men, protruding tummy is not considered sexy at all and women are not looking for a man with six packs like in the west. A man must possess some degree of physical masculinity to ensure that he can protect her woman. Thin men are a total turn off to a woman as well as overweight.

When you become overweight you are considered ugly and always placed in the old age group even if you are young, sometimes there are health concerns. Thin is not considered beautiful neither, if you are slim then people think you must be undergoing some sort of suffering either physical or emotional and they always feel sorry for you.

However being overweight or thin does not play a major role in our society because people associate with whom they have the same values on the inside not outside and there is no stigma associated with weight. People maybe concern with your health but will never address it in a mean way. If you have foes then they will always try to hurt you. It’s not like in the US people are so mean, opinionated and judgmental that family members, friends and total strangers stare, laugh and point fingers at you while walking around.