The ideal female form is a passing fancy.

It changes with generations and within cultures. From the zaftig 17th century Reubens nudes, to the boyish bodies of the 1920's flappers, back to the voluptuousness in the 1950's with Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren, then dangerously shifting to the nearly emaciated Kate Moss et al. A woman's body is expected to adapt to the current trend, with little regard to reality or health.

Real Women Have Curves is a film currently playing on HBO. It addresses how much a woman's self-esteem (and perceived worth) is wrapped up in her body image. There is a scene where several considerably overweight women strip down to their underwear. The lead character, Ana, states to her nagging mother, "This is who we are."

As if to say, we are multi-faceted women and should be respected for our value as human beings, so enough with the harping on fitting into a size seven.

I respect the point the film is making. To judge a person based on their weight is shallow and wrong. Still, I didn't glean from it strong, defiant women saying, "love me, love my love handles." I saw women who are courting diabetes, heart disease, a host of other physical ailments, and a lifetime of curtailed activities.

The Walking Example Group has never been about vanity. It's about health and wellness, an enhanced quality of life and responsibility. Individually, we can make real differences in our overall health by tending to the daily maintenance of the only body we're given.

We brush and floss everyday to avoid cavities. Exercise and eat good food to avoid diabetes and heart disease. Give your heart, your muscles, and the rest of your body the same consideration you give your smile. Shelve the excuses and get on with it.

Keep in mind that it is quite possible, especially in an abundant society, to be a bit overweight and still be healthy.

Part of health maintenance is a numbers game, with blood pressure, lipids, triglycerides and cholesterol counts just as, if not more important than, weight. See your doctor regularly.

A woman's self-image can be battered like a ping-pong ball just by reading a single glamour magazine, riddled with computer-enhanced photos and articles emphasizing jean size over IQ. There are very few perfect bodies and, regardless if the scale reads 100 or 400 pounds, love and respect what you see in the mirror, warts, chubby thighs and all.

We are all works in progress, from the moment we're born. Strive for excellence; leave perfection to God.

Brenda Berstler is the founder of the Walking Example Group (WE-GO) a non-profit organization encouraging walking and walkable communities. Visit their website at www.we-go.org.