I saw this first hand when I started losing weight. When I went from 260 to 200 people started telling how skinny I looked. I'm 5'6". At 200 I was still obese. By no stretch of the imagination was I thin. Fatties in particular would tell me that I was too thin and needed to put some weight back on. Fuck that shit, I'm so glad my shit lord friends were all, "okay you lost some weight. Now keep going fatty." When finally hit my goal weight of 140, those same ham planets were telling me that I looked emaciated. I'm not even that thin. I work out every other day doing calisthenics, and I have two physically demanding jobs (electrician and truck unloader in a warehouse). However I am not shredded nor am I swole. I genuinely think I am what should be considered the "average"  body type. Everyone's perception is just so warped that normal weight people look emaciated to them and obese individuals look normal. It's so sad that just doing what should be the absolute minimum for your health puts you above 80% of the nation.