THE SOCIAL MEANINGS ATTRIBUTED TO THE FAT BODY OVER TIME

The body archetype is currently on the agenda of social, market and health discussions, especially due to the re-signification of what it has represented to society for centuries. The fat body, that is, the body that is overweight considered 'ideal' according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) metric or social ocular opinion, is one of those who suffer most from social opinions and prejudices. Faced with this reality, this study is characterized as a theoretical essay whose objective is to trace, from a vast review of the scientific literature, the historical evolution of the meanings attributed to the fat body. The results confirm that, despite having moments in which the fat body was recognized as an exaltation of femininity and an expression of wealth and food abundance, there has always been, albeit on a much smaller scale than today, a type of social rejection of forms voluptuous bodies. However, at no other time is so much discrimination and prejudice recognized as those suffered by fat individuals today, especially women. In this sense, this study contributes to the expansion of the body debate in order to enable reflections that promote resignifications and that favor the social well-being of all individuals, in their infinite pluralities and diversities, not just bodily.