Have you seen these two websites? This is Why You're Fat: Where dreams become heart attacks came first. It's a collection of the most over-the-top foods imaginable. The site is food porn, for sure! From deep-fried Cadbury eggs and to White Castle casserole, this site is page after page of over-the-top, gut-busting, fat-laden foods. These foods make the bacon roll look like a healthy food. The photos are mostly of meat and dough concoctions held together by cheese or gravy. Vegetables appear only when they're deep-fried or serving as garnish. Some of these photos are so over the top that you can't imagine a human being actually eating these foods. They cross the line from appetizing to revolting. Then along came This is Why You're Thin: Inspiring images of the things that make and keep us healthy. The antithesis of "This is Why You're Fat," this site is a collection of plant-based foods. There's no bacon in sight, and the photos are more colorful, thanks to the bounty of vegetables. These dishes look more like what we might eat every day. The sites are entertaining, but they're also interesting social experiments. Let's take a deeper look at This is Why You're Thin and Fat. These sites, especially the "fat" one, have become pop culture phenomena. The "Fat" site has even landed its creators a book deal. Superficially, they entertain via pictures of foods, but they each raise good questions. Is eating such a black and white issue? Does one site take Molière's "eat to live" philosophy to heart, while the other represents a lifestyle that flouts it? We know that one meal won't make you "fat," even when it's a bacon-cinnamon roll. The opposite also holds true: One meal of miso soup and brown rice won't make you "thin." A healthy lifestyle has room for all foods, even deep-fried cheesesteak and hot beef sundaes occasionally. (I'm not advocating eating those, but a few bites of anything won't undo all the good you've done. No one says you have to eat the whole thing!) To me, the "Fat" site is amusing. The food doesn't appeal to me at all. The food looks so heavy that I can't imagine feeling good after eating it. I love to indulge, but these foods are so outrageous that they don't even seem like food. Conversely, I think the "Thin" site is mildly inspiring. The dishes are healthful, even though they're not all that exciting. Frankly, if I weren't a vegetable fanatic, this site probably wouldn't convert me. I love photographing vegetables, but many of the dishes are just so-so. Still, I'd rather eat the "Thin" foods over the "Fat" ones. Does the name of the "fat" site offend you? What emotions are evoked when you look at the photos of each site? Which foods would you rather eat? Which foods wouldn't you eat? Did the "fat" site whet your appetite or turn your stomach? |
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