"How do black women fight crime? They have abortions." "How do you stop a poofter from drowning? You take your foot off his head." These and other 'jokes' featured in an advertisement on The Gruen Transfer, an Australian television program focusing on advertising. The ad, part of a segment called 'The Pitch' which usually produces humorous ads, was banned by the ABC, but the national broadcaster has still allowed it to be viewed online, and hundreds have now seen it. The ad was designed to sell "fat pride", with creator Adam Hunt explaining his motivation behind the ad being to say "if you discriminate against somebody on the basis of their shape then you are no different to someone who is racist, homophobic or anti-Semitic." Debate has raged online if the ad is offensive and discriminatory, as the ABC has declared, and whether or not it was effective. Watch the ad and judge for yourself.
posted by Effigy2000 on May 15, 2009 - 157 comments

David Kessler Knew That Some Foods Are Hard to Resist; Now He Knows Why. Former FDA commissioner David Kessler goes dumpster-diving to investigate the neurological impact of eating junk food. [Via]
posted by homunculus on Apr 27, 2009 - 40 comments

Obesity can be “caught” as easily as a common cold from other people’s coughs, sneezes and dirty hands.... As many as one in three obese people may have become overweight after falling victim to the highly infectious cold-like virus, known as AD-36.
posted by caddis on Jan 26, 2009 - 327 comments

A graphic yet poignantly written first-person account of what it is like to weigh 530 pounds. The author of this account is unflinchingly brutal in her candor, which, although it makes some graphic moments in her narrative difficult to read, also brings you deeply into her world and her perspective. (A July 2008 update.)
posted by WCityMike on Jul 14, 2008 - 332 comments

Cheap Corn Makes Your Life Short
posted by thisisdrew on Apr 20, 2008 - 41 comments

Mississippi considers banning people with a BMI higher than 30 from eating in public. Though its author doesn't expect it to pass, House Bill 282 attempts to draw attention to the obesity epidemic, exaggerated or no. Predictably, some are upset.
posted by waraw on Feb 1, 2008 - 181 comments

There are lots of people who post weight loss videos on Youtube. But none of them faced as many challenges as Jeremy did. Morbidly obese, and bedridden, we watched while he struggled to walk again and defeat obesity. Despite those that were rude to him, nobody seemed to have as much spirit and drive as Jeremy did. Even Jeremy's last video was filled with optimism. But even though so many of us struggle against obesity, some of us lose the fight. Even though Jeremy has passed, Roberta's videos dealing with his loss remind us how fortunate we really are.
posted by smoothvirus on Jan 29, 2008 - 15 comments

It's a Big World After All. The Disneyland Small World ride is going to be closed for 10 months in 2008 due to refurbishing. The main reason for the refurbishing: the ride isn't built to accommodate today's average passengers' body weights.
posted by bugbread on Oct 29, 2007 - 64 comments

Struggling British biotech firm Vernalis reports "striking" weight loss among patients taking its new obesity drug, "V24343".
posted by chuckdarwin on Sep 14, 2007 - 26 comments

Obesity has been called an epidemic in the United States. Looking at an interactive statistic [CNN, flash] of the state-by-state numbers is sobering ^mf. 64% of adults are overweight and approx 25% are obese [Wikipedia 1, 2]. The usual suspects have so far been a culture of low-exercise ^mf high-consumption (due to urban sprawl, driving, TV, ... ), microbes ^mf, genetic predisposition, and bad diet (the ubiquity of junk food with its high levels of fat, sugar and salt. Recently the high fructose levels in the common American diet has also been noted. Fructose comprises 50% of table sugar and up to 90% of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), both ingredients found in copious amounts in most American 'convenience' foods. [Wikipedia: Fructose#References, Wikipedia:HFCS]).
Now it seems that a decisive assessory is a common virus, the Human Adenovirus-36, which may really make obesity an actual epidemic. [Int. Journal of Obesity, CNN]
posted by umop-apisdn on Aug 21, 2007 - 48 comments

The progression of obesity in America (where one's BMI is greater than 30) from 1985 to 2005.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 28, 2007 - 108 comments

Cheap Donuts and Expensive Broccoli: the Effect of Relative Prices on Obesity. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the period 1982-1996, we find that individual BMI measures, as well as the likelihood of being overweight or obese, exhibit a statistically significant positive correlation with the prices of healthful relative to unhealthful foods.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Mar 27, 2007 - 61 comments

Southwest's obesity ticket policy nearly strands man with medical condition that causes obesity. SWA's extra fee for fat travelers has been covered before. But what if your obesity is caused by a medical condition? An indigent man dying of late-stage Hepatitis C and suffering from related abdominal bloating is told by an SWA gate agent he can't board a connecting flight to a hospital willing to take his case unless he coughs up money for another ticket -- despite the family getting reassurances before he departed that he wouldn't have to pay due to his medical state. He only boards after an SWA in Dallas for the ticket herself.
posted by dw on Jan 24, 2007 - 55 comments

The right approach in dealing with childhood obesity? Several states in the US are handing out body mass "report cards" to better inform parents on the issue of childhood obeseity. Is this an effective tactic or will it lead to an increase in weight problems in the future?
posted by portisfreak on Jan 8, 2007 - 63 comments

When you drive on local streets you can be a Wingman for Grandma. Help make Grandma safer when she goes out for a walk. Drive the speed limit on local streets. Help set the pace for your community. Small increases in vehicle speed increase the threat to pedestrians. By helping to calm your local streets you can make it safer and more pleasant for you and your family.
posted by meddeviceengineer on Jan 7, 2007 - 68 comments

Obesity and Diabetes - another free supplement by Nature
posted by Gyan on Dec 15, 2006 - 17 comments

No running in PE. I was talking to my kids about school the other day. We were discussing what they do in their different classes and the conversation came around to physical education (PE). I was shocked when they told me that their gym teacher forbids running in PE class. What?! No running in PE? It’s true.
posted by John of Michigan on Oct 7, 2006 - 92 comments

Paging Dr. Ronald McDonald and Dr. Pepper. To Cardiology ... stat. Despite the innumerable reports demonstrating an sharp rise in childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes in children, many children's hospitals continue to provide a plethora of unwholesome food and beverage choices. Moreover, these choices often contribute to revenue in most of these hospitals. This has been well-documented in community and academic [BugMeNot] hospitals. Different children's hospitals are awfully good at handing out advice to families. Maybe the hospitals should look in the mirror [note: links to .pdf of study].
posted by scblackman on Sep 8, 2006 - 44 comments

Can microbes make us fat? Of the trillions and trillions of cells in a typical human body — at least 10 times as many cells in a single individual as there are stars in the Milky Way — only about 1 in 10 is human. The other 90 percent are microbial. These microbes — a term that encompasses all forms of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and a form of life called archaea — exist everywhere. New evidence suggests microbes in our bodies can determine how efficiently we process food and affect our hunger centers.
posted by caddis on Aug 13, 2006 - 29 comments

Newsfilter: According to a new research from the United States, increasing numbers of Americans are becoming too fat to fit into X-ray machines. Whoa. Heavy...
posted by Effigy2000 on Jul 27, 2006 - 64 comments

Lifestyle on the line. UK to allow hospital's opinions on personal lifestyle to define state healthcare decisions.
posted by shepd on Dec 17, 2005 - 39 comments

Obesity: Epidemic or Myth?
posted by Gyan on Nov 16, 2005 - 54 comments

NSFW "Here at Fantasy Feeder we either want to be fat or we want to fatten. We're feeders and feedees obsessed with over endulging our huge bellies and fat bottoms, and we're here to share stories, play online games and encourage each other to gain weight."
posted by holloway on Nov 15, 2005 - 112 comments

America's Waistline. A new piece examines the politics of the fat. Despite the growing numbers of people who are becoming obese, the fat acceptance movement remains oddly stunted in terms of membership. The growing civil rights movement faces many problems, including presenting a respectable face to the public. You see, many of the people who are in charge are feeders (NWS). Many wonder how the movement be taken seriously when so many who lead are sexual deviants and much of the revenue generated for size acceptance efforts is through pornography? Still, the battle rages on.
posted by skjønn on Nov 3, 2005 - 155 comments

This is why we're a fat country
posted by thisisdrew on Aug 2, 2005 - 145 comments

Obese people are the target of awe and mockery, but they're also real. The Washington Post offers another terrifying, saddening, and inspiring portrait of a morbidly obese man trying to get moving. If you must comment about this, try not to fat-bash. It's just tacky and predictable...
posted by chinese_fashion on Jun 26, 2005 - 133 comments

New federal study released today finds that overweight folks —not the obese, though—have a lower risk of death than those who are average weight. Some welcome these findings as the death knell for “fat hysteria.” The study also concluded that deaths related to obesity are actually a third of what has been reported by the CDC. Seems rather counterintuitive, no?
posted by Sully6 on Apr 20, 2005 - 42 comments

NutritionData.com is a free and very useful website for detailed nutrition information, including the in-vogue Glycemic Index; their own Fullness Factor, a measure of how filling foods are per calorie; and others. Their Better Choices Diet makes use of the Fullness Factor to make consuming less energy than you use easier to do without going hungry. Previously mentioned in response to this AskMe question.
posted by callmejay on Jan 19, 2005 - 13 comments

Big John vs. Great John.
posted by me3dia on Dec 23, 2004 - 83 comments

American waistlines are hurting airline profit margins. Who likes sitting next to an obese person on a plane? But who can feel bad for Corporate Welfare mothers who openly ask for handouts?
posted by Mayor Curley on Nov 4, 2004 - 18 comments

In your face Nevada... What's your states percentage of obese adults?
posted by drezdn on Oct 24, 2004 - 33 comments

The life and death of a supersized man. Walter Hudson was fat. Precisely how fat was impossible to determine, because the one time he agreed to be weighed on an industrial-strength scale, it broke. (Maybe it was something he ate?) But no one denies that Hudson was one of the most obese people of the modern era (note: pictures not safe before lunch). Former comic, erstwhile diet guru, civil rights activist and Michael Jackson proponent Dick Gregory was one of Hudson's many exploiters, but Hudson's agoraphobic existence sounds almost beatific.
posted by digaman on Sep 18, 2004 - 24 comments

Obese Florida woman melds with couch after laying on it for six years. Meanwhile.
posted by swift on Aug 12, 2004 - 94 comments

Another touching, sad, chilling account of obesity in America. The story of Anamarie Regino, a 3-year-old who was abnormally large for her age. Anamarie was taken out of her parents' custody because, it was determined, her life was in jeopardy because of her size. This despite a 550 calorie/day diet and obvious signs that "too much food" wasn't an issue.
posted by hijinx on Jul 19, 2004 - 78 comments

Touching, sad, chilling account of obesity in America People outside the US have this view of us as disgustingly, morbidly obese...and it can be true. This article from the Washington Post Sunday Magazine (free registration may be required) put a touching, terrifying, human face on one of America's biggest problems.
posted by chinese_fashion on Jul 19, 2004 - 219 comments

Scientists know that being fat reduces your lifespan, making you more susceptible to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and a host of other bad things. However they are only beginning to understand why. "Fat tissue is now recognized to be the body's biggest endocrine organ," producing 25 known signaling compounds and a variety of proteins.
posted by ilsa on May 12, 2004 - 37 comments

Time to blow the whistle. Is the "obesity epidemic" a medical emergency, or a big fat lie? Paul Campos says it's time to tell the truth.
posted by frykitty on Apr 28, 2004 - 78 comments

The Great Citizens Campaign to Lose Three Kilograms. Okinawans have closely adopted the U.S. lifestyle of cars, suburban malls and fast food, and have become Japan's fattest people?
posted by the fire you left me on Mar 29, 2004 - 6 comments

McDonald's to start hawking kid's clothes. Will they make super sizes? (Don't miss the classic file photo of "children in a McDonald's restaurant.")
posted by CunningLinguist on Mar 26, 2004 - 24 comments

Supersizing of America may be linked to high-fructose corn sweeteners
posted by thedailygrowl on Mar 26, 2004 - 40 comments

All This Progress Is Killing Us. "Increasingly, Western life is afflicted by the paradoxes of progress. Material circumstances keep improving, yet our quality of life may be no better as a result - especially in those cases, like food, where enough becomes too much."
posted by the fire you left me on Mar 19, 2004 - 17 comments

mypetfat™
posted by hama7 on Mar 1, 2004 - 30 comments

SuperSize Me. NYT Link reports that the average person in the USA is getting bigger. But, we aren't the only ones.
posted by jopreacher on Mar 1, 2004 - 7 comments

His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on his health. "It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart". Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a tongue-in-cheek documentary which he has taken to the Sundance Film Festival.
posted by stbalbach on Jan 23, 2004 - 63 comments

US and Big Sugar challenge WHO Obesity Plan William Steiger, of the US Department of Health and Human Services sent a 28-page letter to the World Health Organization on January 5th. On behalf of the Bush Administration, he writes "rigorous scientific studies do not clearly show that marketing fast foods or high calorie foods to consumers increases their risk of becoming obese. Nor do scientific studies definitively link particular foods, such as soft drinks or juices, or foods high in fat or sugar, to a higher risk of obesity." Attacking the science, protecting the status quo, it's a familiar tactic.

The WHO's efforts to combat worldwide obesity, and the reactions of US Sugar and Food Manufacturers were already discussed here last year. Now that the plan is outlined, after 3 years of work, it recommends "advising people to limit sugar and refined foods, restricting junk food marketing, improving food labeling and raising prices on unhealthy foods". The US, however, is demanding strong changes before it signs off.
posted by kokogiak on Jan 21, 2004 - 62 comments

You are fat because there is too much corn. [NYT, forfeit of first-born son required] I love good old-fashioned materialism, and Michael Pollan (author of The Botany of Desire) scores one for the team with this article on the economics of corn production. Are we fat because New Deal agricultural policy was overturned in the 70s by Rusty Butz? Now there's a trailing question we can all enjoy.
posted by condour75 on Oct 11, 2003 - 31 comments

McDonald's launches global campaign featuring Justin Timberlake in an attempt to target kids and teens. Forget the "Smile" campaign, it's "I'm lovin' it" now. (NYT account required)
posted by valerie on Sep 2, 2003 - 18 comments

You're going to die, why not do it with a big bean & cheese burrito and a lime slurpee in hand? While trying to figure out what's up with Hardees' latest ad campaign, I found this site reviewing all manner of fast food chains. Put on your Celebrate Obesity t-shirt and enjoy.
posted by idlemind on Aug 7, 2003 - 8 comments

Kraft announces plans to stop marketing in schools and to make products healthier Sure, maybe they're only doing it because they're being sued, but it's nice to see a company taking responsible steps without being forced to. Now if only all other junk food makers would do the same, or schools stopped allowing the junk foods in.
posted by callmejay on Jul 2, 2003 - 85 comments

"Live Large, Live Free!" Freedom Paradise is a new Mexican resort catering to large-size visiters. "There are a lot of people who put off vacations, saying, 'I'll buy that bikini when I lose 15 pounds.' We say, why wait to lose weight, when you can enjoy life now?"
posted by ferociouskitty on Jun 8, 2003 - 16 comments