Fat is the new thin on television these days

Have a sandwich, Twiggy. In fact, go ahead and down a 6-foot sub. With cheese. Fat is suddenly fabulous, at least on TV, a realm once thought to be the exclusive playground for stick figures.

"Drop Dead Diva," a dramedy about a rail-thin model reincarnated as a plump lawyer, is scoring the highest ratings for a new Lifetime series since "Army Wives" debuted in 2007.

"Ruby," which chronicles the adventures of 500-pound Ruby Gettinger, is responsible for the Style Network's highest numbers.

This spring, "The Biggest Loser" continued to eat into "American Idol's" ratings, providing NBC its best Tuesday viewership in four years.

Susan Boyle, the Scot with the build and artistry of Julia Child, dreamed the dream on "Britain's Got Talent." Heck, even Oprah Winfrey parked her "fat wagon" in the cooler and put back on a few comfort pounds.

So why this appetite for fuller-figured personalities?

"Maybe they just have wider angles on their cameras now so they can fit me on the screen," said Luke Conley, the 330-pound real-estate developer who plays bachelor to plus-size women on Fox's "More to Love."

More likely, it has something to do with the fact that the big and beautiful will no longer be ignored. According to a study by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, nearly one-third of all children in 30 states are considered overweight. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey believes that nearly two-thirds of all American adults should be spending less time at McDonald's and more time at the salad bar.

The country's struggle with weight issues is a big reason "Loser" has been one of the few bright spots in NBC's struggling lineup.

"I think it embraces a concern and a worry that keeps a lot of Americans awake at night," said Paul Telegdy, who oversees the network's reality programming. "There's this epidemic of obesity that the show deals with using exceptional delicacy, in a way that's uniquely engaging."

Seeing real-life people struggle with their expanding waistlines is certainly more relatable than, say, geniuses tracking down mass murderers or ubergeeks who have more than a molecule of a shot with the hot blonde across the hall.

"It strikes at the heart of the human spirit," said "Loser" host Alison Sweeney, a soap-opera star who has had her own public battle with weight. "You see people being able to overcome this obstacle that seems insurmountable. Miracles can happen."