You are right when you talk about culture and food. I immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa with my Californian husband and life here is very different. Food is very expensive in South Africa and items such as coke and candy are luxuries and sold in small quantities. Fat people back there are viewed as being poor because the carb heavy diets of corn meal are predominantly what poor people eat to stay energized. I'm not saying everyone is thin but I grew up that fat was like a US size 12. What floored me when I moved here a decade ago was the really big big clothing sizes. In South Africa you could not find really big clothing let alone fashionable clothing. I think it's a disservice because it seems that it's ok to be any size, you can find clothing and still not sacrifice on fashion. I think it can put a false idea in people's minds about their overall state of health and wellbeing as a result. My thoughts ...