The roving band of lepers and ponces at TMZ have published a feature entitled "Fat After Fame," in which they identify and then mock celebrities who have dared gain weight over the course of their careers.

While almost all of the shit site's derisiveness is absurd and laughable, our favorite of its new fat-skinny comparisons is this one of actress Raven Symone. Can you believe that disgusting pig is finding it difficult to maintain the svelte physique she had when she was seven? What a fattie.

According to Page Six, Ashanti is so ashamed of her body that she would not let anyone take her picture at the opening of the Ivy Hotel in San Diego this weekend.

Although she didn't pose, she didn't seem to particularly mind the photogs at Marion Winans birthday party in NYC on August 20 (see photo). She also doesn't seem like she's gained huge amounts of weight.

The real reason she didn't want to be photographed? Who knows, but maybe the embarrassment of her way too-long gap between albums is finally getting to her.

A recent study shows that black women who are overweight are less likely than whites to seek treatment. Could it be the proud-to-be-fat movement, of which Mo'Nique is a leader? Or could it be that, for many of us, a healthy body isn't worth the lifestyle change?

"We found that African-American women did not differ from Caucasians in terms of concerns about body shape and weight," but those concerns were more likely to motivate white women to seek dieting assistance, said lead author Rachel Annunziato, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City.

Obesity-related health concerns were not cited by either black or white women in the study as a primary motivation for losing weight.

The study vaguely credits "cultural factors" to the dieting differences between blacks and whites — it's the easiest answer, but also very true. To an extent, I love that some black women love themselves so much. But, the truth is, most of us have the same weight insecurities as everyone else. We are just less likely to do anything about it.

[Forbes]