social situations

The wedding and weight loss industry is a match made in heaven.

According to Newsweek the cost of the average American wedding is now approaching $30,000. It seems that part of that package is weight loss - no matter what the cost.

Sure, every bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day - but is there is a serious case of denial going on here? Does a culture of bridezillas mean anything goes?

There used to be a quaint notion that people who were overweight were "jolly" and "fun-loving" and generally more social than skinny folks.

But that's just an old wives tale... isn't it? One would think that with the stigma and discrimination overweight people face in modern society, they'd be more shy, anxious, and introverted, right?

Well, a new study claims that those who pack on more pounds are actually more sociable and less anxious than people who are not overweight.

You've made a choice to eat good foods, but then every Friday you meet friends for Pizza and Beer. What do you do?

Or maybe your mother, husband, wife, or whomever - loves to bring you home your favorite calorific treats - how do you stay the course without offending someone?

Here are 7 points to ponder on.

"You are what you and your friends eat."

This is according the lead author (emphasis added) of some absolutely fascinating research looking into the social networks of those who are obese -- and how the interesting correlations that exist.

Essentially - if your friend becomes obese - there is a high chance that you will also become obese. The closer the friendship, the higher the chance.

UK tabloid Daily Mail explains that every woman needs a 'fat friend'.

Universally acknowledged?

Fat Talk: "The pressure for women to say negative things about their own body."

Some intriguing research shows that college students - males and females - know that when women are in a group of other women who are fat talking, that they are supposed to join in to say negative things about their bodies. And, there is pressure to do so.

In other words - if someone starts complaining about how fat they are - there is an unwritten rule that you must also join in with the self-degradation.

I rarely eat in food courts (or food halls). These are the communal eating places in shopping malls - where you get to choose your food from a variety of vendors.

When I do eat in a mall I notice I always eat very fast. Maybe it's the noise -- maybe I just want to get out of there. Whatever the reasons - my food hardly "touches the sides" as it were. If I had purchased a large portion - I'm sure the whole thing would go down the hatch before I noticed what I was doing.

If the anti-fat bias is increasing - then how do people cope? Brownell and Puhl have published new research investigating this - entitled Confronting and Coping with Weight Stigma: An Investigation of Overweight and Obese Adults (see abstract).

A wise man once said that if you want to build something, you need to first sit down and estimate the cost. That principle can be applied to building a better body or better health.

It's amazing how many people embark on a diet without sparing a single thought as to the practicality aspects. In response to a diet review on Diet-Blog, Crystal made this remark: Yeah, I tried this diet and lasted about 7 hours. Just like every other diet [...] maybe next diet.