Something I noticed, based on my observations on clear research: one of the fundamental, psychological factors contributing to prejudice against obesity.
Eating is normally a social activity, be it luncheon or dinner; the people with higher status usually get to ask for fancier, exquisite and simply "more" food compared to middle class stuck with what they have, and the impoverished who are also malnourished -- these traits of status can easily be noticed via the human eye. Social status means a lot. Granted, obesity may not simply be a result of status and background, but also genetic or medical conditions (such as Hypothyroidism), but the human mind doesn't know that. Human mind can be deceived, regardless of its intellectual capabilities. Subconsciously, the members of the lower classes immediately notice the obese as ones from "better lifestyles" and hold prejudice against them, trying to spot their vulnerabilities -- the biggest one being their physical feats, where the obese are regarded as physically / athletically inferior due to their "easy lives". You know, when you can't win the game just flip the board.
Now, even if you were to take this idea to a developed country like America, the prejudice still exists, even though the "rich" has been separated from "obesity" (the latter has begun to take place in non-rich families due to altered lifestyle and consumerism). In any competition, ones incredibly handicapped are usually taken as "targets" by mid/lower lever individuals to amplify their own dominance and gain status, somewhat of a stepping stone, simply because they're incapable of challenging peers of equal or stronger skill.
Weird shit, right? Anywhos, just my observation -- not trying to propose any solution or anything.
The act of choosing a specific size within a set of hierarchically arranged options is one avenue by which individuals signal to others their relative rank in a social hierarchy. As a consequence, larger options would be selected by consumers, not merely out of a functional need for hunger but due to a desire to signal status.
This isn’t such a strange conjecture. Think, for instance, of the alpha males in those David Attenborough specials on television – the most powerful animal is the one who eats the most, getting access to the felled antelope before anyone else. Or think of all the cultural norms that associate larger products with increased status, from the screen size of televisions to the square footage of houses. In category after category, bigger isn’t just better – it’s also far more prestigious, a signal that we can afford to splurge on spare rooms we’ll never use.
Oh, and here's the biggest anthropological irony:
Needless to say, this paper captures a tragic dynamic behind overeating. It appears that one of the factors causing us to consume too much food is a lack of social status, as we try to elevate ourselves by supersizing meals. Unfortunately, this only leads to rampant weight gain which, as the researchers note, “jeopardizes future rank through the accompanying stigma of being overweight.” In other words, it’s a sad feedback loop of obesity, a downward spiral of bigger serving sizes that diminish the very status we’re trying to increase.