Obesity (attitudes toward)

Size acceptance and the obesity controversy
The main effort of the fat acceptance movement is to decrease discrimination against people who are overweight and obese. However some in the movement are also attempting to challenge the established relationship between obesity and negative health outcomes.

A number of organizations exist that promote the acceptance of obesity. They have increased in prominence in the latter half of the 20th century. The US based National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) was formed in 1969 and describes itself as a civil rights organization dedicated to ending size discrimination. The International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) is an NGO which was founded in 1997. It has more of a global orientation and describes its mission as promoting size acceptance and helping to end weight-based discrimination. These groups often argue for the recognition of obesity as a disability under the US Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The American legal system however has decided that the potential public health costs exceed the benefits of extending this anti-discrimination law to cover obesity.

Multiple books such as The Diet Myth by Paul Campos argue that the health risks of obesity are a conspiracy and the real problem is the social stigma facing the obese. Similarly, The Obesity Epidemic by Michael Gard argues that obesity is a moral and ideological construct, rather than a health problem. Other groups are also trying to challenge obesity's connection to poor health. The Center for Consumer Freedom, an organization partly supported by the restaurant and food industry, has run ads saying that obesity is not an epidemic but "hype".

People are known to select potential partners based on a similar body mass. The rising rates of obesity have therefore provided greater opportunities for overweight people to find partners. Certain subcultures also label themselves as particularly attracted to the obese. Chubby culture and fat admirers are examples.