BBW is commonly used as an abbreviation for the phrase "Big Beautiful Woman" and generally describes "women of size". Nowadays, internet dating websites are commonplace.  BBW's are also the focus of a subculture with interests centered on the acceptance, support, and admiration of overweight women. Exceptionally large women are called SSBBWs, with the SS standing for "super size".

BBW has many near-synonyms with varying shades of meaning. "Rubenesque" (referring to the art of Peter Paul Rubens, known for portraying full-bodied women) is probably the closest synonym. "Full figured" has a more straightforward connotation, whereas "voluptuous" and "zaftig" usually connote ripeness, sensuality, ample bust and wide hips.

What's your thought's on the word BBW?

By starting a diet plan, you have made the first important step in losing weight. Why have a plan? Well, changing your eating habits and getting in shape are long term goals, and like most long term goals, they require planning. Remember that dieting is like training for a marathon, it requires determination, planning and a strict schedule. So here are some suggestions on how to achieve your dieting plan of action.

1. Write down your long-term goal. Be specific about what you want to achieve by using a phrase such as “I want to lose 20 pounds in six months” instead of “I want to lose some weight”.
2. Read books on dieting, exercise and nutrition.
3. Decide on a diet.
4. Write your goal on a calendar each month and track your progress with words such as “Lost 8 pounds in first three months”
5. Get into a strict routine of eating and exercising at set times

Most people see the events of the day as blessings or curses. Successful people see them as challenges and opportunities. Have faith and remember that persistence and patience will always be rewarded.

Dawn French, best known for her comedy work with Jennifer Saunders, and long term friend Alison Moyet, former Yahzoo singer, have teamed up in their new play called Smaller. The play has been running for several months and has become a hit show at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London.

The pair first became friends over 20 years ago and decided in 2001 to combine their talents of comedy and singing in the form of a play. Carmel Morgan was appointed to write the new play and actress Kathy Burke became the show’s director. Dawn told Kathy that she wanted the play to be both funny and meaningful. The resulting play became a tale of resentment, fear and Catholic guilt, with one or two songs thrown in.

Dawn plays middle-aged teacher Bernice Clulow whose selfless devotion to her disabled mother is legend. Bernice however has become infuriated and resentful after years of caring for her mother. The sister Cath played by Alison Moyet, wisely left the home straight from school for a singing career. But while the mother is obsessed about the absent golden girl, Cath has ended up singing karaoke classics to hen parties in Puerto Banus wondering how a promising career has gone so horribly wrong!!

Dawn admits to finding the role of Bernice Clulow challenging, but enjoyed the opportunity of serious acting. “This play is also very funny, but it’s a different type of funny.  It’s very raw, dark humour”.

Top clinical nutritionist Dr Gillian McKeith claims youthful good looks are within easy reach by eating the right food. Most of us want the prefect complexion with lustrous hair and a beautiful body but are misled into thinking this is achieved by purchasing overpriced miracle creams. Diet guru Dr McKeith believes that specific foods and supplements can improve everything from acne and eczema to dry, thin hair, split nails and even dark under-eye circles.

Here’s some advice on how to achieve great skin:

• Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of clean filtered water each day. This will keep your skin hydrated and help remove toxins from your body.
• Reduce hydrogenated oils and fats from your diet. The worst offenders are red meat, dairy products, refined foods and fried foods.
• Apply natural honey to your skin for 30 minutes and then wash off with warm water. Repeat the procedure 3 times a week to rejuvenate your skin.
• Avoid eating combinations of protein and carbohydrates at the same meals. Instead combine vegetables and salad with either protein or carbohydrate meals. Fruit should always be eaten on it’s own at least 30 minutes before or after any other food.
• Increase the amount of antioxidants in your diet by eating fresh vegetables and fruits. Antioxidants help slow cellular ageing.

Improving your complexion relies on ensuring your body has the correct amount of minerals and vitamins. Eating the right food is the key to reaching this balance and looking younger.

As ridiculous as it sounds, fat people are assumed to be inherently unattractive, stupid and enslaved by creature comforts. Such stereotypes are portrayed by both the media and the public. Even in "politically correct" circles, where one would certainly not hear derogatory remarks about ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, or people with disabilities, one continues to hear derotagory remarks about fat people.

Stereotypes, and the resulting prejudice, develop from a belief that a group of people share common characteristics. This belief is almost always grounded in myth and ignorance. The central myth surrounding the prejudice against fat people is that fat people really could lose wieght if they wanted to. Research shows that fat people inherit metabolic factors. Within three to five years 90-95% of all diets fail. Tragically a high proportion of people will die from weight loss surgery and that dieting makes a person fatter. Most fat people have no more control over their size than a person does in the colour of their skin. Our society, accepts that some people will be shorter or taller than average, and some people will be thinner than average but cannot accept that some people will be fatter than average.

This climate creates a "blame the victim" mentality, where myths and stereotypes are used to justify treating fat people as second-class citizens. This has a devastating effect on the quality of life for fat people. Fat people are discriminated against in employment, in that they are denied employment, denied promotions, denied benefits, and sometimes fired, all because of their weight. Fat people cannot adopt children, solely because of their weight. Fat people are denied access to adequate medical care, sometimes denied treatment, misdiagnosed, harassed, and treated as though every medical condition is a weight-related condition. Fat people are denied access to public accommodations, such as public transport, airline travel, theatres, and restaurants because seating is not available for them.

Research has documented that women are most commonly the victims of size discrimination. Perhaps this is because men have traditionally gained credibility through the power and wealth they accumulate. Women have gained credibility through how closely they conform to society's ideals of beauty. Size discrimination is therefore linked to sexism. Women get fatter as they get older (a physiological phenomena), so size discrimination is linked to ageism. As lower income women tend to be fatter than higher income women, size discrimination is linked to classism. Size discrimination is undoubtedly a feminist issue.