DEAR ABBY: What do you say if someone who is overweight says she's fat or asks you if she's fat? It's always such an awkward situation, and I usually end up saying, "Of course you're not fat!" I'd like to know if there's a better way of handling this. You always know what to say. -- TONGUE-TIED IN FLORIDA
DEAR TONGUE-TIED: If someone who was obese stated that she (or he) was fat, I would either let the comment hang there in silence or I'd say, "What do you intend to do about it?" And if someone with a weight problem asked me if he or she was fat, instead of denying the obvious, I would respond, "What I think isn't nearly as important as what you think about that."