Overweight 'should be protected'

This is utter nonsense fella. The media is as much a reflection of the masses as it is a projection.

Well, this is your opinion. I'm not sorry for either fat or skinny, but there's another side to this argument where skinny people are being abused by fat people.
It all depends what magazines/newspapers one is reading and which shops visits... Topman isn't for me since I turned 17. My wife can't find anything in Tesco, because most items are size 12 up.
People can stay whichever shape they like as long as they're healthy and are comfortable with it. The rest depends also strongly on aesthetics carried by majority of certain nations and ethic groups.