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"As anyone who&amp;#x27;s ever spent a lazy day in leggings can attest to, spandex can be your absolute BFF for getting cozy and comfortable. But could the super-stretchy fabric possibly be contributing to the growing obesity epidemic in America? The folks at NPR seem to think so, since they recently pinpointed spandex as a possible culprit for weight problems, as part of an ongoing series on obesity in America. &amp;quot;As the waistlines of Americans have expanded, their clothes have been stretching with them &amp;amp;#8212; largely thanks to the synthetic fabric,&amp;quot; Marisa Pe&amp;amp;ntilde;aloza writes. She spoke with designers, shoppers, and clothing fit experts, and many weighed in with a grim outlook on the spandex situation: &amp;quot;Is that the sign of decline of Western civilization? Perhaps,&amp;quot; says Ed Gribbin, president of Alvanon, a clothing size and fit consulting firm in Manhattan. &amp;quot;Some of us cringe when we see the things that we see. Some people will be poured into a garment and think they look fabulous, and someone else might look at that person and think that&amp;#x27;s not very attractive.&amp;quot; He goes on to call spandex a &amp;quot;democratic&amp;quot; fabric, noting that, &amp;quot;The product will morph to the body as opposed to limit the body. But many wonder whether spandex is encouraging people to be bigger.&amp;quot; They also spoke with a size 14 shopper at a Maryland mall who says she couldn&amp;#x27;t wear jeans for years until a stretchy version came along, and another who said spandex makes her feel &amp;quot;lean and beautiful&amp;quot; and lets women hide the fact that &amp;quot;we&amp;#x27;re not perfect bodies.&amp;quot; It&amp;#x27;s definitely interesting to hear that spandex is more prevalent and affordable than ever, but I wonder if it&amp;#x27;s not a stretch (no pun intended) to think that those clothes are actually contributing to obesity. Do you think that if women had fewer options of clothes that fit, they&amp;#x27;d actually be forced to lose weight and be healthier, or does that strike you as absolutely ridiculous? Do you think spandex is contributing to a lazy society? Are we more likely to accept our bodies in less-than-stellar shape if we can find flattering ways to dress them? What do you think of NPR&amp;#x27;s suggestion that spandex is contributing to obesity? Is it B.S., or does it ring true for you? I&amp;#x27;m so curious to hear what you all have to say about this one... PLUS! - Do H&amp;amp;M&amp;#x27;s models look too perfect to be real? That&amp;#x27;s because they&amp;#x27;re not! - Body image: Mindy Kaling on being a very happy size 8 - Health challenge: 15 ways to show your body some love today"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2011/12/could-spandex-be-making-you-fa>