Nichelle Gainer (whose Vintage Black Glamour blog was seen previously on MeFi) responds insightfully to a NY Times editorial by author Alice Randall called "Why Black Women Are Fat."
posted by hermitosis on May 7, 2012 - 44 comments

The Fat Trap (NYT pop review): Overweight individuals in Western nations (and, increasingly, beyond) face interpersonal and institutional stigma for their bodies*. Oftentimes, these stigmas are predicated on the belief that being overweight is a moral failure, that being overweight is usually a result of laziness, decadence, and/or characterlogical poor impulse control. However, an emerging consensus among obesity researchers points toward strong, common physiological and individual genetic factors as causative for heightened BMIs in the modern world and the general failure of dieting to produce BMI outcomes. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine (paywalled) adds to this body of evidence, suggesting that chemical messengers held to contribute to altered "efficient" metabolism and increased hunger in the wake of low-calorie dieting are (on average) significantly elevated up to a full year (if not longer) following a substantial drop in weight from dieting. [more inside]
posted by Keter on Dec 28, 2011 - 173 comments

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin Whether because exercise makes us hungry or because we want to reward ourselves, many people eat more — and eat more junk food, like doughnuts — after going to the gym.
posted by dgaicun on Aug 13, 2009 - 167 comments

Stickk.com allows people to undertake commitment bonds: promises that they will do something (lose weight, quit smoking, etc.) or else forfeit a pre-determined amount of money to a charity. Either the honor system or a referee can be used to decide if the goal is met. The idea is related to Nobel prize-winner Thomas Schelling's concept of strategic precommitment. More here, here, and here.
posted by shivohum on Jan 18, 2008 - 17 comments

The biggest losers in the Blogosphere. Metafilter does not do the discussion of weight very well. However, I'd like to introduce you to a group of online folk who have found a way to help each other in losing weight. Meet mtpolitics. He had a moment of body based angst. Da Goddess had an idea. And so a project was born. (Have a care for the pipe, 'cause it ain't real big.) The blogs of the people involved in this contest might offer a unique diversion as well.
posted by Wulfgar! on Jun 20, 2003 - 27 comments

Lose 15 Lbs. in 20 Minutes a Day! by playing the flute during sexual intercourse, square dancing while stacking wood, and other easy methods.
posted by kirkaracha on Jul 28, 2002 - 2 comments

This is the true story of what happens... when seven strangers... are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped... to see what happens when people stop being polite fat and start being real skinny. America's obsession with weight loss continues on ABC. It's the anti-Fat Project.
posted by hijinx on Oct 31, 2000 - 7 comments