I think diets can work as long as at the end of that diet the person changes the eating habits that caused them to gain weight. A diet can be a good kickstart to a lifelong change in eating habits.

The point is that there was no "honest descriptor" for the 260lbs woman.

No.

It's not derailing.

The point is that people would be angry if there were a fat shaming adjective in there.

Excellent point!

She went from a meaty 260 pounds to 105 pounds.

I am hopeful for a moment of clartity that leads to an edit of the post.

Yeah, the women in my office have expressed similar confusion about European women tanning and even dying their blond hair brown or red.

It's hard, though.

Yup. Same here. It still amazes me to see whitening deodorant, though. I mean...really?

Yeah, I just didn't know what to do. I couldn't work out if I was contributing to their self esteem issues by giving out sunblock (to prevent darker skin) or if I would make matters worse (by not giving sun block which would maybe push them to continue with the lighteners).

Yup. I intentionally brought up non-blacks doing this to highlight the point that it's not just us.

Yes!

I have seen some skin lightening with higher end products. Cheaper products may contain bleach or lye. The result is weeping sores and horrific scaring.

I was typing this on the cell, so small correction: I meant hydrochloric acid as something corrosive and dangerous. Not hydrochloride which is quite helpful for skin rashes!

Despite what Ms Denica says, there are a disturbing number of women throughout the continent of Africa who use whitening products. Not only that, but women in India, Viet Nam, China, Viet Nam, Thailand, etc also use them. There are some horrific facial scars and infections that have arisen from the use of creams…

No, her arms and legs are not full and toned. Her arms are quite thin which means that the muscle that is always there is more visible. That is not the same thing as having worked out and having "toned" the muscle.

Yes, well if a women were to lie about birth control she would be facing pregnancy/birth control. However, women do sometimes lie with the expectation that things will turn out well in the end (i.e., that the guy will stick around).

I think you're seeing something that you already believe exists. I don't think the picture is trying to tell a story at all. This isn't a staged family portrait. It looks like a candid shot on a street.