In Western countries the general view is that all women want to be thin and everyone who is overweight is interested in dieting and taking up the latest popular weight reducing system. Fortunes are spent on special foods and exercise regimes in an attempt to lose a few kilograms and conform to the dimensions of the latest top model.
Much effort goes into designing clothes to flatter the form that does not yet fit that slender silhouette. However, over large parts of the world, fat is viewed in a much more positive light. In parts of Asia and most of Africa, fat is welcomed as a sign of growing affluence.
