[68skylark]

A lot of it can be traced to nerves and anxiety put in the mind by well-meaning parents and other kids in school who literally say, "I don't like you because your fat."

Are you saying that disapproval of obesity causes obesity? Would it be logical to say that if we approve of obesity and embrace it then it will diminish? I might have some trouble agreeing with that theory.

[Desdemona]

Are you saying that disapproval of obesity causes obesity?

If approval from parents, friends and grandparents is denied, and chunckiness seems to be the cause, what's going to happen? The kid is going to go to the freezer and get an ice cream. Or eat a chocolate bar. It makes you feel better.

It's an endless cycle.