Conclusion

All of my research into the representation of overweight people has shown the same thing. They are often shown as being lazy, stupid, unsuccessful, unlovable and ultimately something to be avoided.

Some representations DID have a positive side. For example Smithy from Gavin and Stacey is quite funny and does fall in love with a girl. Shrek also finds love with Princess Fiona. This might be seen as suggesting that it IS possible for some overweight people to find love. However, it is interesting to note that the people they fall in love with (Nessa for Smithy, and Fiona for Shrek) are also overweight. This might represent overweight people as only being able to be loved by other overweight people.

I think these representations are quite bad because they give people a very negative impression of overweight people. If people saw these characters / stories often then they might assume that ALL overweight people were like that, and would end up stereotyping them.