There have been studies suggesting that dieting actually worsens obesity, long term. If that's true, the stigma against fat could be worsening the epidemic: mildly chubby people are made to feel bad and so they try to force their bodies to fit a thin ideal, starving themselves. Their bodies, hard-wired to want to carry a little extra weight, react by trying to store even more fat against what gets perceived as an intermittent threat of famine, and fitfully their weight increases over time, rising from mere chubbiness to morbid obesity.

I've also seen, anecdotally, a similar phenomenon taking place with exercise. Mildly overweight people become so embarrassed about their size that they start to withdraw from physical activities that will emphasize their extra fat. If you're carrying an extra 30 pounds, and you live in a society that idealizes slim people, you don't want to call extra attention to your problem by doing something where you get winded and sweaty faster than all your friends. Better to keep to couch-based activities. If you succeed in steering social activities away from those that subject you to extra stigma, not only will you get fatter, so will those you associate with.

It's possible that if our culture weren't so hung up about people being a bit overweight, we'd have a whole lot fewer badly overweight people.

I am on my way back to a healthy weight. It was sort of a last resort on my part. I had tried every diet over the past 11 years since I gained 75 pounds in 3 months. That was scary. After my 40th birthday I just started to gain weight. I hadn't stopped exercising, hadn't changed my eating habits, but nevertheless I started gaining weight. The first time I noticed I stepped on the scale and realized I now weighed 188 lbs. I was horrified. What happened is, of course, my clothes got tighter and tighter, which back then was easy for me because I wore my clothes tight all the time. So, I ended up buying new clothes. And then two months later I got on the scale and I weighed 208 lbs. I ended up weighing about 228 lbs. First I had to stop running, then I started having trouble walking, and had to slow down, then I started to take falls. One of the first thing that happened was I noticed when I fell that there was nothing I could do to stop the fall, my arms were useless. So this was my horror story.

What did I do, what I always did the usual things, I cut back on my food, quit eating sweets, no snacks, all that kind of thing. And I lost some weight, and then, in a couple weeks it came back again. In the end I found that just doing this kept me from getting fatter. But that was all. I went on diets, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc, etc. They worked for about 10 to 12 lbs then the weight always came back. I would give up after about another month.

Next I tried increasing my exercise by starting out by lifting weights to increase my strength. Well, that worked. I was able to start exercising again. However, I didn't lose weight from it. I gained about 20 lbs. Sigh.

So, it wasn't my thyroid, and it wasn''t anything else they could test for. I believe my metabolism just took a giant dive.

Friends, most of my friends used to be skinny. But after I gained the weight the only people I could find to be friends were fat. My friends were fat because they were the only people who would befriend me. But, I got married during that time, and my husband is skinny, go figure.

So everyone wants to know what finally is working for me? I decided to try God. I went to Overeaters Anonymous after reading a book by a woman who lost 150 or so lbs. I had never tried it before, because I thought it was just crazy.

I got a food plan from a sponsor and followed it. And I used/use the tools, calling, going to meetings, writing, working on the 12 steps. The food plan, yes there is one. And yes it has low calories, but on it I am eating more, and eating consistently. I eat the same amount every day. Where before I use to not eat for a couple of days eat normally for a couple days, then not eat. Never was much of a snacker so stopping snacking which I didn't do anyway was easy. I had already stopped eating all fried foods, and drinking sweetened drinks and soft drinks two years before. No, what they asked me to do was to stop eating all processed flour and sugar. Instead I eat vegetables and fruit. I eat meat, grains, but no processed flour and sugar.

So, what about friends? Well, I am down 44 lbs now, and a funny thing, is happening, I still have my fat friends, but now skinny people have started talking to me. I also can't shop in plus size stores anymore, so I meet people while shopping.

I also get a lot of stares, because I take my scale with me to restaruants and weigh and measure my food even there.

So, fat people have fat friends, because fat people accept fat people. That's my belief.

Thank you, Arkady, for your post. Your post captured my thoughts about this article.

I understand that the study found that having fat friends was a higher indicator of whether you will become fat than many other conditions. However, I do not understand that the study actually attempted to test the notion that a relaxation of social norms is the CAUSE behind the increased chance of becoming obese.

My anecdotal observations also lead me to believe that it is spread of dieting and restrictive eating habits among friends, and not a lack of stigma about being overweight, that accounts for the increased chances of becoming fat. Dieting works in the short term to reduce weight, but over the long term most people either rebound to the same weight they were when they started dieting, or they rebound above that weight. Dieting requires that you constantly think about food, what you can eat, what you can’t eat, when you can eat, how much you can eat, what foods are good, what foods are bad, how much you really want to be bad and eat the bad foods. Eventually all that thought and obsession about food is going to result in eating more of it that a person would normally if they weren’t obsessing over it.

The idea that fat isn’t stigmatized among overweight people is absolutely not what I have observed. I have observed that even people who are slightly overweight are highly critical of themselves and others about being fat. When going out to dinner I hear so much conversation about “I shouldn’t be eating this” or “how many calories do you think this has” or “I never really eat like this” or “I just am not hungry today.” Because fat is so stigmatized currently, people are resorting to avoiding that dessert they want with dinner in front of people and then going home and eating twice that amount of dessert where no one can see and blame them for being fat. This leads to even more weight gain.

I also agree with the stigma about exercise, I have been in the gym and overheard people mocking overweight people who are trying to improve their health. That doesn’t do much to motivate someone to stick with a gym program. At times, I have even opted out of activities that might make me look less than ideal because I fear being judged, even though they are activities that I enjoy and that are healthy for me.

The idea that increasing the stigma against fat people will solve our obesity problem is wrong. The stigma, and the dieting pressure that has accompanied it, are more likely a contributing factor in the increase in obesity in our society.

Get over it. Love to eat and don't get obese or lose weight. Stop the rationalizing and whinning!!!!

Get over it! Culture smulture. Americans are fat coz they eat too much, esp. fast food. Stopping the rationalization for lack of impulse control would be great!

First a diet is only what one eats. So everyone is on a diet. But today the term diet is used in liew of 'fad diet'; A diet with the goal of losing weight in a short period of time.

I agree that type of diet is bogus. One should just have a healthy diet; Mostly veggies, fish, low sat. foods, lots of fiber etc..

With this diet and regular exercise one should be able to get to a healthy weight. Of course if one has abused their bodies for many years already (ie. they are fat) than it will take a lot longer time.

So what, the sooner one starts the sooner one gets there.