Note: This post
can be very triggering for some people. Please take care of yourself and don’t
read this if you are sensitive to the topic of eating disorders.

To start, let’s lay out one ground rule. We know that
population statistics respectively affect the nations’ behaviours, habits, and
personalities. When something is common in the population, the personification
adopts it too.

For example, America’s people strongly believe in aliens and
conspiracy theories.

As such, America also believes in aliens and conspiracy
theories.

It would follow, then, that given how big the fast food and
dieting industries are in America –what a
massive contradiction that is – he would also be affected by this.

Well, he is.

While I can’t attest to how accurate this statistic is, Hima
cites that 60% of Americans are overweight. What matters here is that this
statistic explains why America is also ‘overweight’. He’s not actually. I’ll get back to that in a minute.

Point is, America has been struggling with weight and
dieting issues from some of the earliest strips. Of course, this is because the
fast-food industry really took off after WW2. The dieting industry came a bit
afterward when people began realizing how much weight they were gaining by
eating so much processed food.

The same thing happens to America. Initially, he doesn’t
realize the effect that constantly eating burgers has on his
metabolism.

This then leads him to inquire about the eating habits of
other nations as well as how they maintain their thin figures.

The problem with America is that this obsession with dieting
becomes unhealthy, exactly as it is with the American population. Eating
disorders and crash diets are chronic in North America. It’s a major problem
that isn’t really talked about. Hima, on the other hand, characterizes America
to accurately reflect this.

In his introductory chapter of World Stars (chapter 23), the
topic of his dieting session is immediately brought up. I don’t think this
would be done unless it was something pivotal to his characterization.

The character note claims that America’s gotten over his
dieting craze and has accepted that he’s not actually fat but rather muscular
and big-boned.

That’s the mental illness aspect of eating disorders. You
claim that you’re better despite the fact that you keep relapsing into
unhealthy habits. This thought process can be very convincing, as some people
with eating disorders truly believe that they’re healthy and that there’s
nothing wrong with what they’re doing.

Expectedly, later chapters contradict this.

Not even that, literally the next chapter depicts him
struggling with his weight. When he measures himself on the scale and a large
number turns up, he convinces himself that it’s broken. If that wasn’t enough,
he also calls Germany to fix the scale.

How I interpret this is that America is in denial and is stubbornly
fighting with himself over the number on the scale.

In the same chapter, he falls back to his old dieting tactics
and asks Italy about his eating habits.

This isn’t the first time the insecurity over his weight is
shown either.

Ex: In the strips depicting what each country is known for,
America is shown to be painting over the American stereotype of being “fat.” As
someone who seems to be struggling with his body image, it makes sense that he
wouldn’t want to be known as an obese country.

The problem with America is that he overeats, sets unrealistic
body goals, and then doesn’t follow through with these goals. This, in turn,
leads to a rigorous cycle of dieting and feeling poor about himself.

Ex: One of his New Year’s Resolution to “take better care of his
health” is to have a body fat percentage of 3%. Obviously, this isn’t a
realistic goal. It’s far from healthy.

Notice how being slimmer has been his resolution for the past 30
years. It’s not something that’s gone away, as it’s a problem that’s
persistently affected Americans over the years.

The cycle continues when, in the same strip, he treats
himself to a hamburger and milkshake.

The last that we see of this problem is when he trains China
to help him lose weight. [Chinese obesity rates have been on the
rise lately.]

Regardless of the fact that America possesses super strength
and possesses more physical endurance than normal, a 10,000 corkscrew punch workout is
not normal. If anything, this is indicative of another unhealthy dieting
tactic.

In sum, America’s dieting/ workout habits and
overconsumption of junk food are owed to the prevalence of the fast food and
dieting industries of his country. Given the evidence I just presented, it’s
not a stretch to claim that he suffers from body issues and has an eating
disorder.