It's pretty common knowledge that die-hard Muslim countries don't exactly have the best record when it comes to guaranteeing women human rights. You know, silly little things like the chance to wear jeans, or learn to read. But...

This article is REALLY strange. Apparently, the craze in some parts of the Arab world is fat women. Really fat women. Now, that's fine. It's a culture thing, I guess. But the bad part is that rich guys have mothers start force-feeding girls at an early age, causing all sorts of crazy ailments.

The International Obesity Task Force, a London think-tank, finds 83 percent of women obese or overweight in Bahrain, 74 percent in the United Arab Emirates, and 75 percent in Lebanon. (Trailing not far behind, some 62 percent of American women fit these categories). The Journal of Nutrition in a 2001 study found half the women in Tunisia and Morocco overweight or obese. Further, the rate of childhood obesity has risen rapidly. A 2001 survey estimated that 22 percent of Mauritanian women have been force-fed as girls.

I suppose the inverse of this is how some American moms guilt-trip their daughters into eating disorders and yo-yo diets. At least according to Spanglish...