Also, questions of nutrition. For someone with limited means and a family, the dollar menu at McDonald's or an all-you-can-eat buffet may seem very attractive. It is very expensive to eat healthily in this society.
> The hoopla over America's "obesity epidemic" just seems like cultural class war from above -- snobbery disguised as concern about public health.
There is an actual epidemic -- look at the increasing rates of heart disease, diabetes and other co-morbities of obesity. The problem is that the cause of obesity is seen as some sort of moral failure instead of the complex network of economics, class, genetics and biology that it actually is.
> the U.S. obesity epidemic is clearly connected to capitalism: the way we tolerate fast food chains advertising their shit directly to children, the fact that suburban sprawl makes walking anywhere nearly impossible, etc.
And we do not provide public gyms where people can lose weight. Also, the government will not acknowledge obesity as a disease, so insurers will not reimburse for nutritional counselling or other preventive measures. You have to come down with diabetes, etc. before you can get help which by that time is often too late.
> BTW: I don't see how expressing disgust at obesity promotes a negative
body image. Curves are sexy, but rolls of fat and bones are not.
Obviously, you are not a member of Mirth 'n Girth. Attractiveness comes in all varieties. There are people who find vaginas sexy. Go figure.
Brian