It depends on the media. I think tabloids focus more on who is the thinnest and who could be anorexic. Meanwhile, in more legitimate news sources, we hear a lot about obesity and the dangers involved with that. I think in Anna Wintour's line of work she is going to hear more about thinness and anorexia. She might view a healthy woman as being quite obese when it might not be true. I think the media is part of the problem in people's dysmorphic perception between physical size and overall health.

I don't agree with her comment 'everybody focuses on anorexia' although I can see why she thinks that, working in the fashion magazine industry. However I definitely agree with the 'little houses' comment-there are some shockingly huge people about, and just because Minnesota is the healthiest state doesn't mean it's people are all healthy...or even the majority of them.

It's pretty obvious that something needs to be done about obesity; obese people are EVERYWHERE these days. And even in a generation I've noticed a change. There were no fat kids in my school but nowadays it seems that at least a third of kids in a school class are overweight.

OBESITY! All we hear about is how fat and unhealthy we are, the kids are, the babies in the bellies that aren't even born yet. Anorexia is like a rarity, people are so sick of hearing about how fat they are but that isn't going to make them kill themselves by being anorexic/bulimic... its more fun to kill yourself over eating!!!

Either way, I could care less. Its not our nations fault that people aren't caring or taking care of themselves.

I really can't vote on this one because I think we focus on both in very different ways, so you can't really compare the two. When somebody is an anoretic or in the throes of an eating disorder, then there really is awareness - but one that is heavily pointed at the media for promoting such a crazy level of thinness, whereas obesity is more of a THIS YOUR OWN FAULT kind of thing. Obese people get the fingers pointed at them a lot more (though there are medical and psychological issues) yet people also forget that overeating to that extent is also disordered eating just like fasting or bingeing and purging are. Anoretics are told to fix themselves, or there is a frenzy to "fix" them with treatment or simply telling them to eat (and as a recovering anoretic, I can tell you straight up that approach never works) while I always feel like being overweight is a slightly more acceptable malady in our society. It's viewed to not be as bad, but even though anorexia might kill a person so much more quickly, being overweight isn't healthy, either. I agree with what Danni said, something really needs to be done about obesity - but also about America's body image in general. We should be striving for health, and not some superskinny ideal, and I think that ideal also deters the obese from trying to make healthy changes in their lives because most people do not want to be as thin as some of the models on the runways.

There has always been a kind of romanticism in the west about anorexia. People secretly admire those who have the "willpower" not to eat, to starve themselves, even if they know it is bad for the body. There is also a desire to protect a fragile woman and to take care of them.
Anorexia is recognized as a disease, and people with it will struggle with it all their lives. This is not the case with obesity.

When someone is obese, people blame the individual for not having the willpower to control themselves. They are ridiculed by society, and even worse, their doctors. The desire to protect is gone and replaced with disgust.

Maybe someone who is obese won't die as soon as someone who won't eat, but they will have a lifelong struggle with health problems that eventually lead to death.

Society must change about how they look at these issue. If obesity is more of a problem, then those struggling with it need to get nutritionists, therapists, and personal trainers, same as those with anorexia. And most of all, they need good doctors who won't make them feel ashamed of themselves and avoid getting help.

I think it's a tie; I hear a lot about both

Sounds like someone's projecting.... honestly, the only people I know who make a big deal about how the world can't shut up about anorexia are anorexic themselves.

I think it is weird how we pay lip service to eating issues as a country and I do blame the U. S. partially for our diet issues. It is way too easy to eat cheap, subsidized, super processed agricultural products. Corn, wheat, and soy in various forms but stripped of the nutrients they contain as whole foods.

I say both too... people just need to be healthy okay!

i can tell you this - i have seen more movies about anorexia than obesity. so this is an issue in the film industry that has been covered. tabloids cover both, but i'd say anorexia/bulimia and overweight, not obesity. i am a design communication student and my classmates really love anorexia angle and have done their course work, projects and dissertation on the issue. and i have only 30 classmates, so that's a lot of anorexia for such a small group. i'm overweight so i read blogs on fitness to keep myself on the right track, so obviously i hear all the time "be healthy" this "lose weight" that... it just depends on the environment you're in. Anna is in the thin environment, I'm in the real world. where I saw anorexic girl once 3 years ago...

In America,about 822 people a day, 300,000 a year die from obesity. How many lives does Anorexia snuff out annually?

I agree with whoever said that anorexia is almost glamourized. It's not. Both obesity (well, obesity caused by an eating disorder like binge eating) and anorexia are *mental* issues, and the weight is only a symptom/side effect. As a former anorexic turned binge eater turned healthy girl trying to be normal, I can say that it is NOT about the food - it is about some underlying issue.

I also agree with whoever said Anna is projecting. Um, duh.

I think that there are a lot of people who are overweight/obese because they just don't eat right at their meals. But I think there are many bingers out there too. The difference between the two is huge and needs to be addressed.

I think we focus a lot more on obesity than anorexia only because more people suffer from obesity than anorexia. Plus, many of the people that are called "anorexic" by the media are not clinically anorexic. Many of them are underweight and may or may not have eating disorders, but most of them are just thin. Plus, there are more comorbidities to being obese than there are to being underweight, so it kind of makes sense that the media would focus more on it.

And even though Anna's comment was rude, it's kind of true. I live one state over from Minnesota and a lot of Midwesterners are indeed overweight. One time I was at the grocery store and some random guy asked me a question about something and then said, "Finally, I see someone that's a normal size here. I just moved here from California and every woman here is a cow!"

I think obesity gets the "shameful card" more than anorexia. Ex: "Your FAT, shame on you! Don't you have any control?!"

Although, anorexia does get attention too, but also, it's not understood very well at all. Ex: "Oh, so you starve yourself to fit some kind of skinny mold? Well, you look anorexic! Eat a cheeseburger already!"

Both of these "diseases" are more mental, emotional and intricate than many people realize. It's so much more than just food - eating too much or restricting.

I think they should both get equal coverage in the media, AND it should be helping others better understand what it means to be either anorexic or obese - the mental thought patterns, the cause, how to treat others in the midst these unfortunate diseases (hint: don't shame them or belittle them..)

I live in ND - right next to "fat MN." We are actually ranked as one of the fatter states. People here don't really understand how to balance healthy lifestyles. We are a bit old-fashioned and all about meat and potatoes and stick-to-your-ribs meals.

This wouldn't be so bad if the people here were very active, as they probably once were "back in the day" with farming and those kinds of activities. I'm hoping people catch onto to the "health and fitness bug" sooner than later and we can lose our rank as one of the top obesity states.

The issue is about being healthy and neither is. Anna Wintour isn't a health expert though is see. I just got back from playing at a hockey tournament in Minnesota and I will say it was an amazing athletic complex just outside the Twin Cities.

I'm so sick of everyone claiming their obesity is due to some "deep psychological issues".

Come on people, 70% of Americans don't have "emotional problems" or "genetic reasons" contributing to their waistline, they're eating to much and exercising too little. It absolutely IS their fault.

The fact that the majority of North Americans are eating themselves to death is the most disgusting thing mankind has yet to accomplish. Global warming? Forget it, our species is engaging in slow suicide via french fries.

Way to go, mankind. Aren't you glad you supersized?

Definitely more on obesity. Like I said on TresSugar, the only time anorexia makes it into the media as a "serious medical issue" is when an extremely scary case comes around, when the person affected doesn't fit the stereotype [i.e. is a male, or a minority, or twins], or when it's Awareness Month - when we're all *supposed* to pay attention. Not only that, while anorexia is a somewhat hidden disease, an anorexic ideal [especially in the fashion industry] is highly applauded. Everyone equates healthiness with thinness, almost nobody asks about gaining weight to be healthier [unless they're naturally very very petite or are recovering from an eating disorder].

Obesity is everywhere, every day. Why do you think there are SO MANY books, magazines, news articles, shows about losing weight and the dangers of the "obesity epidemic"? I mean, you've got Biggest Loser, at least five different fitness magazines where every month there are at least 2 featured articles about blasting fat and burning calories and getting a sexy body with a waifish looking actress or celebrity plastered on the cover as a "fit ideal"...

This Wintour lady has no idea what's she's talking about.

Lilybeth84, you really said it. I think the problem with Anna Wintour making a social commentary about obesity is a little offensive because she doesn't really live in the same world as most regular people.

Obesity is a recent issue, it's only been on the radar for the last, what, 20 or so years, and now it has kind of exploded into an epidemic. I think the statistics were like more than half the population overweight, a third obese? This isn't just a few lazy people skipping workouts and eating junk food. We, as a society, are doing something very wrong for these numbers to jump up so dramatically.

I think what Anna Wintour meant is that every time someone loses weight or is just a skinny celebrity, people say that they are "anorexic" or at least that they "starve themselves" and yet while we do talk about obesity, we aren't looking at every overweight person and talking about how they gorge themselves.

I also think that while both overeating and undereating can be caused by emotional issues, one of the previous posters had a point that most people in America simply eat lots of unhealthy food and don't exercise. It's part of our culture and our government -- think agricultural subsidies for animal industries. It's also a problem that nowadays we're telling everyone that what you look like is just your body type and it's OK to be fat and diseases like diabetes and heart disease are hereditary. We need to get the message out there that actually to a large extent WE are in control of how we look and feel and how healthy we are. You are not doomed to being fat because it's your body type and you don't have to look like or be sick like your parents.

While the tabloids focus on eating disorders the vast majority of respectable media focuses on obesity, and getting thinner. Ms Wintour lives in a subset of the world where a large percentage of women have EDs and few are overweight. And she should keep her comments about people being the size of house to her saggy face self.
As a person with anorexia I can say that everything is triggering in the media, everything is about being fat and how to lose weight. NOTHING (ok very little) focuses on truly healthy eating or gaining weight, or the opposite extreme of obesity.
She makes me angry.

I think the media focuses too much on weight in general. Every-time I pass a trashy rag mag I always see something about how Scary Skinny a certain someone is or how Fat they got. In general America is obsessed with weight. In every strip mall there's five fast food restaurants with one Jenny Craig near it or some sort of gym. We haven't found a balance and I think it's because we are over consumed with everything as a society.

Since most of you have already hashed this all out...

I will say that as a lifelong healthy resident of MN, I'd like to give her a virtual slap across the face.

I think there is a greater focus on obesity, because it is a more "accessible" form of disordered eating, if you will. "Oh, who couldn't lose a few pounds?" We all go up and down. It's normal. So I think we hear about it more and accept it as part of life. We don't often look beyond diet and inactivity as reasons for being obese. Yes, those are causes, but what's behind it. And yet, when we talk about anorexia, there is an instant fixation on the person's mental health. "Why doesn't she eat? It's all about control! She should know better!" Well, can't we say the same thing about the obese?" We don't just overeat because we enjoy the taste of food. We overeat because we enjoy the taste of food AND it makes us feel better about whatever we think is wrong with us. But that is so often overlooked. "Oh, she's just fat. She needs to work out and lay off the cupcakes." Let's ask why she's downing cupcakes nonstop in the first place. She's trying to fill a hole, with food, just as anorexics are trying to dig a hole, if you will, without food. Not sure if that last part makes perfect sense, but it's been a long day!

But with all of that said, here's a shoutout to Anna Wintour: how dare you? You look like you haven't eaten in years and no amount of spa treatments and high tech glamour is going to make you look healthy. People like you give others the idea that they need to starve themselves in the first place. I wonder if it's healthier to be a rail or a "little house"?

While I don't think that Anna Wintour is necessarily one to talk about being healthy (especially because she lives in that fashion bubble that requires one to be thin), she does have a point about obesity.

Obesity is not necessarily a mental issue, as someone said. Most people are fat because they make bad food choices that can be avoided. People consume large quantities of pre-packaged junk that's cheap - that is why they are fat. No one weighs over 200 lbs because they gorge themselves on truckloads of vegetables. It's easy to buy a pack of pop tarts or order a pizza. It's EASY to get fat! That's the major problem. It's not just the people who are the problem - it's the society we live in.

And it's not just happening in the states - this is something that is happening worldwide. I live in South Africa and I can tell you that there are plenty of mini-houses popping up around here, too!

How about everyone stops blaming the media for a second and start making intelligent food choices? Because it's easy to go to McDonalds, that's why.

You're not going to lose weight & be healthy by being a complacent drone who blames the world for your problems.

America encourages obesity. Bottom line. If more people would exercise and not over-eat, we would not only all have lower health costs, but less people on prescription drugs!

It's actually only 34 percent of Americans who are obese.

(The National Center for Health Statistics show that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese - from Jan. '09)

I just moved here half a year ago from Europe. I have to say America is obsessed with both obesity and anorexia. However I do agree with what a lot of the posters here say - obese people are being blamed and shamed everywhere. I have lived in several different European countries before I moved here and NOWHERE is weight made into such an issue. From doctors who don't give obese patients proper treatment because all they can focus on is their weight to people thinking that everybody is on deaths door who is 5 pounds overweight.

People - there is such a thing as being healthy and having a few too many pounds.
I lived in Holland for a long time where most people are either a normal size or a few pounds overweight. There are not many very skinny or very overweight people. They eat mostly what they want to eat but they also work out most days. Cycling is part of their live and they are incredibly healthy people. It's not like people don't talk about their weight ever but it's also not such a big deal. It's not the most shameful thing in the world if you are a size 12, it's ok.

Moving to the US was really a shock for me. There is such an obsession with food in this country! And the way bigger people are being viewed is disgusting! Not everybody who is a few pounds overweight is a sloth who is living on burgers and soda.

If you want to do something about the obesity problem here start with the schools. I mean - the stuff that is being served in schools! Pizza and fries do not belong in a school cafeteria! School sport should be something enjoyable and not something scary. Those kids grow up on processed foods, you can hardly blame them for growing up to be big people.

And what about high-fructose corn-syrup? It's been proven to be bad for you, how can that still be allowed in food?

What a strange thing for her to say.

Shebelle, I totally agree with you. The amount of time, money, and obsession about weight here is a major problem.

When I was in Europe I saw many people who were the same size as me and not many who were bigger or smaller. I felt "normal" and relaxed.
Here in the States, I am constantly focusing on my size and how there are others who look better in a bikini than me.

If only we could stop obsessing about a few pounds here or there, we would all be better off. I am not talking about those suffering from obesity. This is still a major issue. But perhaps, all this obsession with weight has been a small part of the problem of why people get obese to begin with.

Syako, I personally wouldn't say "only" 34% of people are obese.

from Wintour's POV I'm sure she gets way more flak for skinny models than she does for putting more 'realistically' sized women in the magazine.

I think that when it comes to obesity/anorexia, part of it is that we so often reassure ourselves (accurately or not) that a "real" woman has curves and muscle.

It would be interesting if instead of "obesity" we talked about, say "Binge Eating Disorder" which is more aptly compared to anorexia than just general obesity.

I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think Wintour is totally wrong. But on the other hand, who gives a wonk what she thinks: 98% of us are too hideous to be in her magazine.

Oh Anna, Anna, Anna. I enjoy your magazine (well, MOST of the time), but kindly shut your mouth. You are clearly completely detached from the real world.

Shebelle, my experiences line up 100% with yours. Right on.

I said "only" because someone else had said 70 percent.

oic!

Oh and I agree, one third of the pop should never be "only"

I said 70% (and that's a higher estimate, I think the real number is 65-68%) because I was referring to OVERWEIGHT not obese.

It's not okay to be simply "overweight but not obese".

34% "obese" is horrific. I can't believe it's gotten this bad here.

That is not quite true. Studies have recently shown that active, overweight people are healthier than sedate people who have and "ideal" weight.

But of course, the diet industry - which is one of the biggest industries in the US - wouldn't want you to know that.

There have been many, many studies recently which support that. I am not saying that it's ok to eat unhealthy and not work out but it IS ok to weight a few pounds too much if you lead a healthy lifestyle.

I don't think that the obesity epidemic is about those extra ten pounds some of us carry around from that extra glass of wine or piece of cake though.

I agree that adding "overweight" in the category is misleading in terms of describing an "obesity epidemic"

Anna Wintour just made me not want to buy Vogue ever again. Stupid a$$...ugh

As a recovored anorexic maybe I just notice the obesity media more (as it can be triggoring).

i guess anorexia. just look at hollywood celebs. most of them are superr skinny. anorexic for some. it's their trend. haha

IF you listen to what she said, she was trying to make a point that people should be HEALTHY, not anorexic. In the fashion industry, anorexia is a very big deal. Anna has been through what happened in Milan a few years ago when models below a certain weight were banned from the runways. Things like that is what she is basing what she said on. In fashion, anorexia is brought up more than obesity. She runs a FASHION magazine.

And, in her defense (which I guess this whole comment is, because I do completely agree with her), she was asked to explain her vision on an image that ran in Vogue of an obese woman. Her concern was drawing attention to obesity as a disease, and not to insult anyone who is overweight. She actually called the image beautiful.

Its very very important for people to understand that it's not food that's the problem here. It's our lifestyle. Eating habits and dieting is attacking a problem from the outside in. Like trying to cure cancer by using a skin cream, when what you need is internal medicine. They way we work more hours here, and less vacation than anyone else in the world. The way our cities are laid out, that we can't walk to our grocery stores or to our friends. How we can't ride our bikes to the town centers and jump on highways to get a can of coke. Food and anorexia obsessions and stomach crunchers and diet books. No one will ever find answers in that. Not ever. Go to Holland sometime and watch women ride 5 miles home on a bike with two grocery bags and ask yourself if she diets.

anorexia, obesity.....how about disordered eating.....its one and the same....a mental health issue--involving much more than calorie in and out. Its time for us to start looking at our use/abuse of food like we look at our use/abuse of alcohol or drugs--the issues go much deeper than "self control," education and "making healthy choices."

the anorexic joke is so old....demeaning and objectifying...its BS....anorexia is a serious mental disorder....an eating disorder...and more often than not....so is obesity.....