Overweight and attractive?

New research from NPD Group has hit the papers this week. 24% of respondents agreed with the statement "A person who is overweight is much more interesting." This compares with 55% in 1985 (with NPD press release) Apparently the '"obsession" to be thin also declined:

While body image remains a constant obsession, the national preoccupation with being thin has declined since the late 1980s and early 1990s, said the NPD Harry Balzer.

These statistics hide many of deeper problems.

With 62% of Americans being classified as overweight, it is no surprise that the numbers have changed. According to the above statistics, 76% are "overweight okay."

How does the "man in the street" medium determine what is overweight? Officially, a body mass index greater than 25. However, this judgment is all about perception – and I suspect that it runs much deeper. This is not how we see ourselves, but as we like to believe that we'll see. A happy all-inclusive society in which people are good fat … -

Word Association: fat people
by Christi Nielsen

The correctness creeping politics in recent decades has permeated every aspect of society. What we say and are not a thing that I think is actually another. How many women looked posters 'real women' Dove> and said "we should have more of this" – but inside secretly wished that they were as lean as the latest Hollywood celebrity?

The results of the research NPD are in contradiction with what I see every day on this site – especially among teenagers. We may be accustomed to seeing more body fat and bigger people, but our prejudices run deep. We are certainly not a return to a style rubenseque a time when images of full-figured women are the norm.

No matter how many times polls seem to indicate that "curves" women are the most admired – I think the real story is: thin is still in