I feel like society is overcompensating for the era when being stick thin was the standard and pressured many girls to undereat or do drugs to be thin.

Another reason overweight/obesity is normalized in the US is because the lifestyle sucks. Most cities aren’t walkable, so that means people wake up sit in a car, then go sit for 8+ hours at work, then go sit in a car to go home and sit some more. That’s not normal! Humans are meant to move. Many cities around the world people easily walk a few miles throughout their day because the city is designed for them to be able to walk to work and to do their errands. In some places, people cycle a mile or more to and from places, so scheduling time to exercise isn’t necessary unless they play a sport or want a specific physique.

Another thing that is abnormal in the US is food. People blame the portion sizes, but I’ve been over fed in other countries and never gained weight. It’s the quality of the food. There are foods that are banned in other countries because of the ingredients. Buying foods with minimal to no chemicals is a privilege. People may people eating more but many of the nutrients are depleted so their bodies aren’t satisfied causing them to still be hungry. Foods are laced with chemicals that put stress on body and make us bigger. 60+ years ago, healthy foods were much more accessible to everyone. Bread, produce, meat and dairy spoil faster outside of the USA.

Make US cities walkable and give the whole population access to natural food and watch the obesity percentage drop without addressing other things like high stress levels, mental health issues that cause one to binge eat as a coping mechanisms, expensive health care, vitamin D deficiencies, etc.