There is evidence that the average woman is becoming heavier. Girls are starting their periods younger as they accumulate sufficient body fat at an earlier age.
In the UK, it is estimated that up to 20% of "normal" women binge-eat once a month, 90% have been on a diet and 10% have used vomiting and laxatives as a method of slimming at some time or other. Chaotic eating is so common that it may seem you are almost abnormal not to be worried about weight. Studies find that an increasing number of young girls are obsessed with their weight and body image. According to a 1992 report, one in three nine-year old British girls are concerned about slimming and wish to be 15% below their ideal weight, although 40% of those concerned were well below this. Abnormal weight loss, although unhealthy for men and women of any age, is particularly harmful during adolescence when rates of physical development are supposed to be at their highest.
The popular view of slimming is that it is the result of female vanity. And women are certainly judged on their appearance and shape in a way that men are not. But there are additional forces acting on women to make them want to manipulate their weight and fight their biology. Female sexuality is inseparable from fatness. Women are fatter than men and this fatty tissue is vital for libido and fertility. Menstruation starts only when a woman has laid down sufficient fat. In some countries "fattening sheds" are used to overfeed pubescent girls who are then put on display to signify their reproductive status. In the West, however, fatness is frowned upon. It is equated with laziness, dullness, lack of self-respect, incompetence and unattractiveness. Thinness is the desirable norm, symbolizing sexual liberation, athleticism, androgynous independence, self-discipline and self-worth. We hate our curves and roundness and we deny them, so denying our sexuality. We prefer the shape of a sexless adolescent. We may be making a statement that we do not wish to be valued only for our ability to reproduce.
Fat expands to fill any apparel worn.