MEDICAL researchers constantly disagree on many issues around health risks, but when it comes to body fat, the jury?s definitely in: it?s unhealthy and increases the risks for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, some forms of cancer, gallbladder disease, fatty liver disease, even arthritis.

Still, despite the continuous barrage of mass media messages about fat being unhealthy, an epidemic of obesity seems to be growing, unabated, in many countries including the Philippines.

Some might point out: ?But look at all the fitness centers around that teem with clients!?

Yes, but check out who goes to gyms and fitness centers and you?ll find that they cater mainly to the upper classes. And no wonder; membership dues will set you back a few thousand pesos a month. At one five-star hotel?s fitness center, a family membership (two adults and up to three children) will cost you P120,000 a year ?more than the house rental for an average Filipino family.

Enter the fitness center and you?ll see that the clientele tends to be young upwardly mobile professionals (yuppies). Look more closely and you?ll find that some of the hunkiest guys are, well, hunks who love hunks. And the women? There?s actually a parallel here, with both women and male gays working out more for others than for themselves, i.e., one has to be ?fit? to be attractive, either for an existing spouse or partner (more so for middle-aged women) or for the Prince Charming who hasn?t shown up yet (and when he does, may the best woman, or gay man, win).

Sculpted bodies just aren?t in yet. It?s something left to beauty queens (and lately, beauty kings ? there?s an amazing nationwide network now of male pageants, where men display themselves mainly for other men?s eyes).

There are many possible reasons for this. First, keeping slim and fit requires so much effort in terms of dieting and exercise. Even among the upper classes, the gym may be a hassle (except for the opportunity to meet Prince Charming). Why work out when a lipo, a nip and tuck by a cosmetic surgeon can do the trick?

Religion might be a factor, too. Conservative Catholics fear the body as a source of carnal temptation. In fact, the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines issued a set of DVDs last year that warned against contraception, divorce? and the growing focus on the body, which they see as a form of vanity.

But the most formidable obstacle to anti-obesity campaigns are cultural perceptions: ?payat? (being thin) is associated with poverty (and therefore hunger or a lack of food) and ?taba? (fat) connotes prosperity. Not surprisingly, such norms are strongest among the lower and middle-income classes.

This is not unique to the Philippines. Even in the late 1990s, public health and anthropology journals were already noting the irony that in rich countries, thin was in while in poor countries, it was fat.

Moreover, within the rich countries, it was the upper classes that were pursuing thinness to the point of anorexia, while their poor were the ones who tended to become obese.

A large abdominal girth, which medical people see as an ominous sign of possible heart attacks and strokes, is seen by many as a sign of prosperity, and this affects our definitions of aesthetics around the body. (For the record, there are two simple ways of detecting dangerous obesity: for men, it?s a waistline of more than 40 inches and a waist-to-hip ratio of more than 1. For women, it?s a waistline measuring more than 35 inches, and a waist-to-hip ratio of more than 0.8.)

The Filipino diaspora might lead to even more overweight Filipinos. To have worked or lived overseas means to have experienced the good life, and one needs to have the fat to prove it. So even short-term contract workers will try very hard to come home with some flab. To come home and be greeted with, ?Uy pumayat ka [you?ve lost weight!]? is to say, ?What a hard life you must have had abroad.?

A study conducted a few years ago in the States found that among Asian-American men, Filipinos and Japanese had the highest body mass index (BMI, calculated from weight and height) while among women, these were Filipinos and Indians. The study also found that among Asian-Americans who had migrated to the States, higher incomes meant higher BMI, which was different from native-born Americans. Again, the goal seems to be to use one?s body (fat) to display prosperity.

Fear tactics linking obesity to health problems have limited usefulness. Instead, we should be picking up on cultural norms. First, promote slimness and fitness as part of the good life, but without tying it to expensive fitness club memberships and sports. Show the rich (and celebrities) jogging, swimming, slimming, rather than eating... and eating... and eating (as we see in so many television shows). Second, emphasize the way affordable slimness and fitness programs can make one feel good, pretty much like what jewelry and accessories do, minus the costs. ?