I can understand it this way - and that's what I was looking for. I look at photos of myself as a child and I don't even see a fat kid. Not even that chubby. By today's standards, I might not have even been remarkable. But you'd have thought I was 300 pounds the way I was treated at the time. I never really turned to the food in the way you describe. In fact, it was maddening to me that I'd consciously eat less than my thin brothers and still gain weight.

I didn't get to the point where I said "F*** it, let's slam some Oreos" until my twenties. I definitely developed this godawful appetite during that time that still persists now. I don't know if that was physical, mental, or a bit of both. Like a rock gaining momentum as it rolled down the hill, I got more appetite as I got fatter.

I still dunno if a nicer society would have helped much. People don't hate smokers the same way they hate fat people, and it's very difficult to quit that, too. I know it isn't an exact parallel, but I'm groping trying to find one.