Perhaps that is true in Texas, but it's certainly not true in Maryland where I live. My kids are teenagers and I know that they and their friends are very concerned about weight issues. My daughter has one friend who is slightly chubby (certainly not obese), who cries to her mother about it. Since I had the same experience as an adolescent, her mother and I have had discussions about what to do about this, but it's very hard to combat popular culture. The styles for teenage girls are almost impossible to wear these days if you are even slightly over-weight -- skin-tight jeans and short shirts that leave the midrift showing.

We had to get weighed in front of the class when I was a kid. I was the tallest kid in the class and also the heaviest. It was a mortifying experience for me that still gives me anxiety attacks when I think about it.