I was reading an article in The Huffington Post titled "Kick in the Tush Club" that says Americans are fatter than ever. Why are Americans so fat? And by fat, I don’t mean a little extra poundage here and there. I mean major lardass fat. Many people are obviously eating waaaay too much. The poor quality of a typical American diet also plays a part, along with all the fast food chains, increased stress, and a climate of uncertainty.

It's also happening in Europe. Paris has several fast food chains now too, and the French are starting to put on pounds, albeit a bit more slowly. I think there’s also a mental/emotional aspect to weight gain – at least, that’s what I’ve read. If someone is unhappy, they’re more likely to overeat. If enough people in a certain group all gain weight then that becomes the norm. Nobody notices because everyone is fat. Why is that happening? Are people overeating because they're missing something, or is it a form of  "protection" - padding to soothe anxiety or fear of the future maybe? It's a worrisome phenomenon.

The flipside is extreme thinness. In the 90’s I remember gyms being packed with people and good health was really important. Now the focus in weight obsessed circles is more on what size you wear – how you get there doesn’t seem to matter. It’s more important to be able to brag and say you’re a size 2 than to say you’re at a healthy weight. It all seems so bizzare. I don't think it's attractive at all. It's like watching some freaky Twilight Zone episode. And I think movie stars who show off how thin they are have a huge negative influence on the public. They've made some people feel extremely inadequate and they resort to insane weight loss gimmicks. Our standards of beauty have also gotten extreme. I see women who are botoxed to the max and look like store mannequins -- frozen to perfection with none of the idiosyncracies that reveal a human being's soul. Will it get to the point where people stop looking human? I wonder where all this is heading.