what I don't get is the emphasis on image over substance. If people are going to feel bad about something, I think they should feel bad about shortening their lives through bad habits, be it smoking or drinking too much or eating crap all the time, depriving themselves and their family and friends of valuable time they could have had together. It's so hard to make that more important than what people see in the mirror, though. I wish people would say to each other 'gee, so-and-so is so fit, she loves sports and always has so much fun at them!' instead of being much more impressed by 'gee, she's so thin, I almost *never* see her eat!'. :(

I don't know that much about how 'thin' got put on a pedestal in the last 50 or so years, I have only read a couple books on eating disorders, which usually seem to end up in the end being more about having a sense of control in life rather than appearances.. maybe I should look up some books on the general culture of thin.