"A true Luchador knows that size does not matter; weight does!"
— Rikochet, ¡Mucha Lucha!
Fat tropes can be socially complicated to explain. Depending on the social context, fat can often be scorned or ridiculed as Acceptable Targets, or praised for its voluptuousness. And though there might be various Unfortunate Implications for any of these, obesity continues to have a controversially rich existence in tropes as an increasing percentage of the population of the industrialized world fall into the category currently labeled clinically overweight — especially in The United States and Australia where obesity rates are the highest. So for better or for worse, here fat tropes are indexed.
General tropes
- Acrofatic: A character is fat and agile.
- Balloon Belly: A character gains a lot of weight in a short time.
- Big, Fat Future: Everybody is fat in the future.
- Dead Weight: Fat zombies.
- Does This Make Me Look Fat?: Character wants to know if something makes them look fat.
- Fast-Food Nation: The prevalence of junk food in America and the resulting obesity rates.
- Fat and Proud: A character likes being fat.
- Fat and Skinny: Two characters. One is fat, one is thin.
- Fat Camp: A summer camp where overweight children are sent to lose weight. Often the camp is mean.
- Fat Flex: A fat character tries to make themself look muscular.
- Fat Suit: A costume designed to make the wearer look fat.
- Fattening the Victim: A character tries to fatten another character.
- Geek Physiques: Nerds are either very thin or very fat.
- Heavy Voice: When a character gets fatter, their voice gets deeper.
- Hollywood Pudgy: A character played by an average-sized actor is treated in-story as if they are grossly overweight.
- I Am Big Boned: Denying being fat by using an excuse.
- Mistaken for Pregnant: This can happen to women with excess abdominal fat.
- Nutritional Nightmare: Food that's even unhealthier than it's supposed to be.
- Popping Buttons: Something doesn't fit, so the buttons come off or won't button.
- Post-Stress Overeating: Character eats too much because they are nervous.
- Real Women Have Curves: Weight Woe equals Audience Surrogate.
- Sleep Squashing: A big character (usually fat) ends up rolling on and squashing someone smaller while sleeping.
- Stout Strength: A character is chubby, or even fat, but strong.
- Temporary Bulk Change: Character loses or gains weight temporarily.
- The Fat Episode: An episode revolves around one or more characters suddenly being fat.
- Weight Loss Horror: Weight loss, voluntary or not, goes horribly wrong.
- Weight Taller: Gaining weight makes you taller.
- Weight Woe: Character worries about their weight.
- A Weighty Aesop: An Aesop about how to lose weight.
- You Are Fat: Fat jokes.
Characters
- Adipose Rex: Fat royalty.
- Angry, Angry Hippos: Hippos as big, bulky killing machines.
- Big Beautiful Man: Overweight man is perceived as beautiful.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Overweight woman is perceived as beautiful.
- Big Eater: Overeating tends to make one overweight.
- Big Fun: Cool, affable fat person who is likable.
- Chubby Chaser: Character is attracted to fat people.
- Chubby Chef: A culinary artist portrayed as fat.
- Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: A couple that has a skinny man and a plump woman.
- Fat Bastard: Overweight meanie.
- Fat Best Friend: The Hero's best friend is fat.
- Fat Comic Relief: Fatness Played for Laughs.
- Fat Idiot: The Ditz is fat.
- Fat Slob: Character is plump and untidy.
- Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit
- Formerly Fat: Character used to be fat but lost weight.
- Formerly Fit: Character used to be fit but dropped out.
- Gonk: A deliberately ugly character, often portrayed fat.
- Huggy, Huggy Hippos: Hippos portrayed as lovable, helped by their chubby appearance.
- Kevlard: Fat but resilient.
- Mammy: Fat, female (ex-)slave.
- Never Gets Fat: No matter what or how much this character eats, they always look or stay fit.
- Sluggish Seal: A lazy seal, walrus, or sea lion. Being fat and blubbery comes with the territory.
- Warm-Hearted Walrus: Friendly walrus.
- Wily Walrus: A walrus is a villain.
