Remember Norm?

The lazy, beer-bellied couch dweller from those “Life. Be In It” ads in the 70s?

media_camera Norm was the picture of bad health in the 70s. Sadly it seems we haven’t come far. (Pic: Supplied)

Well apparently more than half the people in NSW now look like Norm, on a good day.

Close to 3.3 million people in this state alone are either overweight or obese — eating too many fatty, sugary, processed foods and not doing nearly enough exercise.

It’s become our “new normal”.

With 52.5 per cent of the state now surfing a dangerous weight range, you are effectively in the minority if you are in fact, healthy.

And just like the “Life. Be In It” campaign from the 70s, we now have a new government advertising campaign to try and coax us out of our chip packets and away from the box.

It’s called Make Healthy Normal, because apparently it’s not any more.

We catch the bus instead of walking, we eat out when we could cook and we take the elevator when we should really be taking the stairs.

We also have long commutes, office jobs and Game of Thrones marathons — none of which are doing our waistlines any favours.

And with the majority of people in the country’s biggest state now bigger in weight and appearance, we are starting to consider this look normal.

It’s a trend that’s also beginning to creep into what we see on television and media campaigns.

For women in particular there’s been a growing push for magazines, runway shows and soapies to embrace the notion of a “real woman” which dances a fine line between promoting body confidence and the portrayal of an unhealthy weight range.

But the notion of this “new normal” is nowhere near as evident as it has become in the gaining popularity of plus-sized models who are starting to do the movement more harm than good.

To their credit the introduction of plus-sized models has been crucial in the elimination of the dangerously-thin heroin chic look that rocked the 90s — they often depict a healthy, more realistic-looking woman than most catwalks have in the past.

media_camera She says she’s a “body positive activist” but Tess Holliday may be doing more harm than good. (Pic: Facebook)

But some cases, like America’s Tess Holliday, are making obesity a fashion accessory, a disease to flaunt.

A self-declared “body positive activist” and feminist, Holliday has embraced her morbidly obese 110 kilogram frame to appear as the face of a handful of fashion brands.

She even got a run in Italian Vogue.

And of all the questions asked of her and discussion on how she loves her curves or has become a role model for larger women, there’s been little talk about the medical issues associated with her condition or the fact that she is a prime candidate for heart disease, diabetes or cancer — if she doesn’t already have them.

She should be using her new-found fame to warn women of the dangers associated with wearing a size 24, not to flaunt herself as a role model for young girls.

Same goes to the media outlets who run her story — just as they would be criticised for running an image of a woman who was dangerously thin — they too need to be wary of their social responsibility.

Because the fact is that those who are morbidly obese, even obese, are more likely headed towards an early grave.

And it’s not just a problem for America, it’s just as rampant right here in Australia.

It’s become our new normal and it’s killing us.