Too Big to Fail?

In the midst of our annual Thanksgiving pigout, we've often justified our gluttony on the grounds that the ensuing expansion of our girth really shouldn't be frowned upon by society. After all, isn't the disapproval of fatness of a modern phenomenon, egged along by the Fitness Industrial Complex? In Medieval times, we tell ourselves, our massive ingestion of food would be hailed as a mark of greatness—why else would a king go along with being called Charles the Fat?

Alas, it seems we've been m...