A few points

1) I didn't mean to imply "skinny" - just slender. - I agree most models today are too skinny - the fact that many of them do not menstruate is proof enough about their over-all health.

2) If you study anthropology you will find that people thousands of years ago rarely had a chance to eat to excess. They also had to work hard to get the food they needed, which meant they burned a lot of calories.

3) Looking at remote communities in Africa, South America and Asia, one sees people who are a great deal more physically fit that you average American or European. While these people are not exactly living the way our ancestors did 300 years ago, they are similar in many ways. They rarely have an abundance of food and usually have to work hard to get it.

4) look at the animals - especially the primates - with the exception of the gorilla few of them have a high body-fat to muscle ratio.

5) You are right - there are body types, but those body types have little to do with the extremes of today's weights. Pot bellies, huge rear-ends and rolls of fat everywhere on the body have little to do with body types. Show me examples of art over 1500 years old that depicts "fat" people with the exception of some royalty.

6) Today, we accept that the tradional roles of our ancestors - women as care givers and collectors and men as protectors and hunters still have very strong echos in 2002. What people are looking for in a partner is unwittingly, vey similar to what our ancestors looked for 2000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000 years ago. To ignore millions of years (including our pre-human ancestors) of behavior is foolish. We look for someone who can take care of themselves, potentially take care of us and children. We take into account intelligence, wits, adaptability, health, and strength. Health includes having a fit body. We are visual creatures and without knowing it, we judge everyone we meet of the opposite (or same) sex as a potential mate.

Unless you are an expert on the subject, I think you should refrain from calling my ideas B.S. - disagree with me all you like, but do not insult me in that way. I have an M.A. in Folklore which is a dicipline of anthropology and have studied the field of early cultures for 15 years.

pax yall