With the exception of those who are moving in with their boyfriends, it turns out that women may be the only ones not putting on some serious pounds. In fact, unlike the skyrocketing obesity rate among adult males and children of both genders, obesity among adult women appears to have stabilized. According to kaisernetwork.org:

Cynthia Ogden at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and colleagues examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on about 8,400 adults and children (Stein, Washington Post, 4/5). The study finds "no significant increase" between 1999 to 2000 and 2003 to 2004 in the percentage of women who were obese, defined as an adult with a body mass index of 30 or above (Ogden et al., JAMA, 4/5). The study also reports that the percentage of overweight women did not change during the same time period and remains at 62% (Stobbe, AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/4)

Men and children did not fare so well. According to the aforementioned Washington Post article, "The percentage of men age 20 and older who were overweight increased from about 67 percent to 71 percent, and the proportion of those who were obese rose from about 27 percent to 31 percent." Likewise, the number of overweight boys and girls between two and 19 years of age increased from 14 percent to 18 and 16 percent, respectively.

So what is going on? Doctors and researchers aren't quite sure, but a couple of theories include: 1. Women's obesity rates historically have been greater than the rates among men, so they could have "reached a genetic saturation point sooner" (in other words, "most of the people who are genetically susceptible to obesity have gotten obese", Wash. Post) and 2. Women are more concerned about health and appearance than their counterparts, and are thus more responsive to public health campaigns aimed at curbing the epidemic (Kaiser).

Personally, I am more interested in the latter theory. It is almost impossible to argue that American media (more specifically, television, movies, and popular women's magazines) have transmitted a love-yourself-as-is message to female audiences. Something is always wrong. Your breasts are a bit too small. Your ass jiggles a bit too much. You will never be thin enough. Ever. As much as we would like to tune out these messages, I can't help but think that we are exposed to them so often that they have some sub-conscious impact. Maybe it's exercising for an hour instead of watching TV or ordering a salad instead of a couple slices of pizza. Now, I'm not saying this barrage of unwanted media attention is fair. But perhaps, perhaps, we have finally benefited from it. Do I really enjoy Cosmo's ten greatest work-out moves or latest dieting strategies? Nope. But hey, maybe such articles aren't all bad.