“I’m fine the way I am…big black and beautiful” declares Auntie Funke as she shakes her size 50 inch waist and abandons her disastrous quest to fit into a skimpy size 12 dress.

I think about about being big, black and beautiful and wonder if it is simply a phrase coined to make us feel less depressed about our magnetic ability to pile on the pounds.

Don’t get me wrong, I am no slim beau myself. If we were being technical I am boderline obese according to my BMI, but who follows that- NOT US! Black women like auntie Funke are naturally big boned so it’s ok if we have a (bit of) belly, stuff ourselves with pounded yam and don’t do any exercise at all – because I’m BIG, BLACK and BEAUTIFUL!

Are Black British women we are in denial about being overweight. We celebrate BIG – BIG booty, BIG hair, BIG BONED but yet don’t try as hard to lose our chicken wings and keep our body in check. We even use the fact that we might “sweat out our hair” as an excuse to avoid the gym altogether, all the while clocking up the payments on our gym membership. Ladies is it time we come out of denial and change our anthem from big, black and beautiful to just: BLACK and BEAUTIFUL? What do you think?