To the actual topic of the OP, I think the general rule is economic, not medical: Whatever the rich folks and celebrities look like, that’s what will be fashionable and attractive. In a culture where most folks have a hard time getting enough calories, fatter folks are regarded as more attractive. Likewise for tanning, or any other visible physical trait.
We would if we valued getting laid.
There have certainly been periods in history where ‘fat’ was considered the ideal, while ‘thin’ was looked at as being undesirable. Personally, and having come from a different background than ‘well off and white’, I prefer the slightly overweight look to the starving, anorexic look that seems to be the vogue with a large percentage of US society (European too, from what I can tell).
So…even with the health risks, ‘thin’, to me, has less value than ‘overweight’…within certain limits.
-XT
Jeez, I guess my best friend is lucky she’s overweight! She’s already having sex twice a day; imagine what would happen if she was thinner! She’d probably have friction burns or something…
:rolleyes:
You keep using anecdotes to argue against the common perception of obesity. Anecdotes are not data.
Some people are alive after having been set on fire. That doesn’t mean fire is not lethal.
Some people drink and drive without consequence. That doesn’t mean drinking and driving is not dangerous.
Some people are obese and healthy. That doesn’t mean obesity isn’t a major health concern.
I guess this comes down to what ‘health problems’ means and what overweight means.
At obese levels, I hated feeling like I could barely run, had to worry about going down steps, couldnt bend, short of breath had to worry about knee injuries, things like that. It felt horrible.
You might get status in some cultures for being larger, but that doesnt change how being seriously overweight can feel. The only way you could get rid of some of those issues would be zero gravity or hyper strength or somesuch. But theres certainly room to not be ‘pretty’ weight wise without having many of those effects.
With you there. 
Obviously, this thread belongs in IMHO … who among us can speak for “we”?
But as a point of departure, imagine that tomorrow’s mainstream media announce that Creationists have definitively proven that there is absolutely no correlation between obesity and the host of health issues normally associated with pushing cholesterol-laden blood thru hundreds of extra miles of vessels. Could that possibly affect the way anyone looks on fatties or thinnies for that matter?
Call me shallow but my problems with fat mates date to my being raised by a mom with good bones. Still want to jump’em.
At what weight does sex become impossible?
Ew!!! You wanna jump your mom’s bones?!
I thought we were talking about people who are overweight, not people who are obese. Didn’t I say upthread that there was a point at which yes, weight is undeniably a health issue? But, that point is much larger than the point at which people feel comfortable discussing someone’s size and saying horrid, mean things.
The simple fact is that some people find overweight people unattractive, and they get some sort of thrill out of expressing that publicly. Then, when they are called on it, they claim its a matter of health. Well, no, it isn’t. When people claim you can’t get laid if you’re overweight, that is demonstrably false. Several people in this thread have said they find larger people more attractive, as a matter of fact. And while it is true that anecdotes are not data, then it would also hold that the anecdotes from all the people claiming they’d “never fuck a fattie” are also going to be thrown out.
When people publicly judge another’s weight and make horrible remarks, it isn’t because of concern for their health. You’re just an asshole. Own it.
If we’re talking about up to 300lbs, we’re talking about obese or even morbidly obese potentially.
I don’t know if you’re calling me, personally, an asshole, but I haven’t said anything resembling what you’re describing here. I was just debating an assertion you made.
Literally every adult member of my family, including me, is overweight, and I certainly don’t have any kind of personal issue with fat people. I think you’re being overly-sensitive.
Have you ever seen an NFL pro football player? I have friends who carry 300 lbs with no real health issues (all are over 6 feet tall). But the OP said 200-300 lbs, so it would depend on the frame.
I suppose that the question needs to be clarified. Are we talking about people who are merely overweight, or people who are morbidly obese? And regardless, if health WERE taken out of the equation (theoretically), then how would this change societies perceptions? Would the folks who talk about health stop talking about the subject…or would they find another vector to attack ‘fat’ people through? And how would this attitude differ depending on the various cultural and ethnic groups?
-XT
Restored (she passed on in '71) into her 25 yo body with no cultural baggage? I’ve done worse lately.
“Have you ever seen an NFL pro football player?”
Yes there is 1% of people or so who are professional athletes or the like that wont apply to.
The other 99% however will be obese or more.
Otara
For the record, I meant the universal “you”, not you, Mosier, personally.
I’m not “overly sensitive”. I’m discussing the subject. It’s very common to make fun of people for being fat, and when called on it, everyone always says “Well, its unhealthy!” There are also beginning to be instances of real discrimination against people who have a BMI over a certain number, even though that BMI, in and of itself, may have little to nothing to do with how healthy someone is. To me, its obvious that these things are based more on personal attraction than any concern for someone’s health. I don’t think it’s right to discriminate against someone based on attraction, or even revulsion. Its a serious issue to a lot of people.
Did you pull those numbers out of your ass, or do you have a cite for it? I’m unsure why the hostility. Seems like an innocuous enough thread to me, but I guess it’s a touchy subject to some. So, in the effort to fight my ignorance, why don’t you demonstrate that 99% of people who weigh 300 lbs are morbidly obese. Then explain why, say, sumo wrestlers are ALSO (generally) classified as morbidly obese, while being able to do things that generally even people in good shape would have trouble doing.
-XT
One dissent here. I say, “You’re welcome to wear it but don’t expect me to.”
I’m in favor of affirmative action. Fatties automatically get bumped to first class given space available to cheers in steerage. Let the market determine if they get free extra butter on their popcorn.
I have no idea what you are trying to say here, honestly. I guess I’m whooshed? 
Every time I’m whooshed, I lose five pounds of ego.