Broader social preferences are important, although, as I said, these are not determined by colour glossy magazines.
You don't have to go to ancient statues of Buddha to see instances of cultures where a belly was considered desirable - it was the sign of a successful, prosperous man even as late as the 19th century in Europe. This is not uncommon in cultures and times where a large fraction of the population is only a crop failure away from starvation (think Ireland, 1845). Women, of course, were still expected to be thin - their fat husbands' success was their status symbol.
To take this further - in England, the Duchess of Windsor said "You can never be too rich, or too thin". In this case, a potbelly, even in men, was not desirable, as the upper classes were well above considerations of starvation, unlike the successful commoner who had escaped the spectre by success in trade. |
