📙 Part 2: Describe an article on health you read in a magazine or on the internet

This episode's vocabulary

Steer clear of (phrase) – to avoid something. → I try to steer clear of articles.

Clickbaity (adjective) – designed to attract attention and clicks online, often misleading. → Articles can be a bit clickbaity.

Read up on (phrasal verb) – to read a lot about a subject. → I did read up on something I saw about men's health.

Satirical (adjective) – using humor or exaggeration to criticize something. → The article was a satirical one about weight loss.

Outrageous (adjective) – shocking or extreme. → It shared all of these outrageous tips.

To the detriment of (phrase) – causing harm to something. → People can become focused on one thing to the detriment of all others.

For the sake of (phrase) – for the purpose of or in the interest of something. → Losing weight for the sake of it.

Reality check (noun) – something that makes you realize the truth of a situation. → It gave me a bit of a reality check.

Get carried away (phrase) – to become overly excited or enthusiastic about something. → I had a habit of getting a bit carried away.

Overly serious (adjective) – too serious about something. → People are so overly serious about notions of health.

Set out to (phrase) – to start doing something with a clear intention. → I hadn’t set out to find it.

Go over (phrasal verb) – to examine or read something carefully. → I used to go over it in detail.

Short of (phrase) – except for or other than. → Short of hiring a personal trainer.

Afford to (phrase) – to have enough money, time, or ability to do something. → We could all afford to keep that in mind.

Body dysmorphia (noun) – a mental health condition where a person worries a lot about their appearance. → The rise of things like body dysmorphia.

Headline (noun) – the title of a news story or article. → The headline caught my attention.

Skim (verb) – to read quickly to get the main idea. → I skim articles before deciding to read them fully.

Feature article (noun) – a detailed piece of writing on a particular subject. → The magazine had a feature article on mental health.

Source credibility (noun) – the trustworthiness of the place you get information from. → Always check the source credibility.

Opinion piece (noun) – an article expressing someone's personal views. → I like reading an opinion piece now and then.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say what it was, where you read it, why you read it, and how you felt about it.

Rory: Oh god, usually I read books on health and wellbeing and try to steer clear of articles since they're a bit, well, clickbaity or potentially misleading. At least in my experience. But one time I did read up on something I saw about men's health. Fittingly enough, this was in a magazine called Men's Health. And the article itself was a satirical one about weight loss, highlighting all the possible ways someone could lose weight, ranging from small actions like shaving off all of your hair to starting to cut off body parts, just to lose the weight of your arm or your leg.

I think the overarching point of sharing all of these outrageous tips was that people can become excessively focused on one thing to the detriment of all others, even your own health. And of course, losing weight should be about being healthy rather than just losing weight for the sake of it and thinking that's what makes you healthy. I think it was, well, I thought it was absolutely hilarious at the time and I still do. And it gave me a bit of a reality check in the midst of my own personal journey towards being healthier, since I had a habit of getting a bit carried away with these things. It's important to have a reminder of that, especially nowadays, when people are so overly serious about notions of how to be healthy and what being healthy actually means and what it might look like.

When it comes to why I read it, well, I hadn't set out to find it. It was just there in the course of my reading of the magazine. I used to buy it every month, you see, and go over it in detail to get advice and see what worked for other people. This was back before the days of internet influencers on social media, so it was one of the few places you could get good advice, short of hiring a personal trainer. Which was, and still is, kind of expensive.

If I hadn't read it, I don't think I'd have suffered too much. But like I say, it was a funny reminder that there are more important things in life than just losing weight. And I think we could all afford to keep that in mind these days, especially with the rise of things like body dysmorphia and other mental health problems or conditions like that.